A Reality Better Left a Fantasy
by Dreamer on south 5th st
Summary: My life is so screwed up. One day I'm chillin' on the beach, the next I'm running for my life from a army of heartless. Who knew that if you believed in something strong enough, it became your horrific reality. So much for having fantasies.
1. Prologue: How we got here

It all started on that cold and bitter January morning. My dad had accepted a job on the new Disney cruise ship for a five day photo shoot gig. It was a new cruise ship and they needed to have pictures to market it. My family had never been on a cruise before and my sister thought it was a dream come true. I guess it was. For her at least. For me, it was horrible. I mean, the five day weekend was awesome, but there would be no friends, no cell phone, no computer for _five days_! I survive in this world by having my phone and not having it for five days was going to kill me. Or a computer! It may not seem so bad to you, but to me it's the worst thing that could happen. Oh sure, sunny and warm beaches, no school, rolling misty waves, room service, and not having to clean up after yourself. And then there's chance of having a romantic fling with a really hott guy only to realize he has a terminal illness and has to return to France for the remainder of his life. Yeah, loads of fun. But it would be lonely without my friends.

So - being the brilliant person I am - I had an idea. Why not invite my friends along! It was a perfect idea. The trip was an all expense paid trip for my family and half price for friends. My problems were resolved.

I told my parents about the idea and asked for their permission. They gave the OK sign to continue with my plan. So I called up some of my friends parents and gave them the basics of my idea. Most were very doubtful and gave me a flat "No" right there. Some were hesitant with only a "Maybe", but in the end only one said "Yes". And it surprised me who had actually agreed to my idea. But I wasn't complaining. She was one of my best friends and a fellow fan of my favorite video game: Kingdom Hearts.

So, that's how we got here. That's how everything started. How my destiny intertwined with my fate. My name is Samantha and this is how the most horrible moment of my life came to be.


	2. Fancy furniture

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom hearts

* * *

Chapter one: Fancy Furniture

Every morning it was the same thing. Wake up, take a shower, eat breakfast, brush teeth, blah blah blah...That was my morning routine for you. The same old thing repeating over and over again. Actually, now that I think about it, that's how my life had been. Repeating the same actions and events over and over. Wow, I had a boring life. Even on a cruise ship the routine didn't change. Yup, you heard me right, a cruise. And it's all thanks to my wonderful father that we were sailing to Disney's own privet island: Castaway Cay. We were docked when I woke up that morning and I fully planned on taking advantage of the warm sunshine already warming the water below us. Little did I know that my day was going to be more then lying in the sun perfecting my non-existent tan.

...

After a warm shower in a overly clean bathroom, I walked over to the fancy, floral couch sitting against the wall near the port hole in our water-closet of a room. No, we don't get a Veranda. We're not special enough for one, I guess. I sat down on the couch and glanced at what my sister was watching on the TV. Katrina, my sister, was sitting in a matching floral chair that was just as fancy as the couch. She was starring at the television (_flat screen_ television) totally zoning out the rest of the world. I glanced at the time: 9:33. They weren't letting any guests out of the ship until ten. So I had a half hour to kill and I really wanted to watch one of the movies on demand they had on our TV. It would make it seem like time was going by faster.

I searched for the TV remote and found it with my eyes. It was laying on the small ottoman not far in front of me. I was about to reach forward and grab it when I heard movement to my left. Turning my head, I saw Trina's eyes flicker between the remote, me, and the TV. My body tensed. I knew what she was going to do. My eyes narrowed warily.

"Don't even think about it." I warned.

She hesitated when she heard the threat in my voice. Glaring at me, she lunged for the remote.

I leaned forward to snatch it, but she grabbed it as I fell forward and smacked y nose into the ottoman. Stupid polished, fancy wood ottoman. I sat back against the couch holding my aching nose. Thank God it wasn't bleeding. I shot a glare above my hand at Trina. She stuck her tongue out at me before focusing back onto the Disney show that was on.

Now, you probably think that I would just let it go and live on with my life. The whole "she got it, she wins" thing, right?

Not right.

Jumping up and I tried to grab the remote out of her hands. Katrina's eyes widened in surprise as I ambushed her precious bubble and she stood on the chair with the remote held up high. I pushed against her legs, hoping she would fall over. She knew I wouldn't climb on the chair. I knew it wouldn't hold us both and so did she. Her knees buckled and she slid down on the chair. She pushed at my stomach with her feet and put the remote behind her back.

"Give me the remote!" I yelled pushing away her feet.

"No!" She climbed on to the back of the chair, still pushing me away with her feet.

Our mom came in threw the room door and walked to the closet to pull out some clothes. She saw us fighting and rolled her eyes at us. "Will you two quit it. You're going to wake up the whole floor." Yeah, right. Like they could hear us fighting. I don't think a canon could be heard through these thick, expensive walls. With a sigh, she told us not to break anything and stepped into the little circular closet that was the shower stall. A second later, the sound of water rushing through pipes echoed around the room.

"Give me the remote!" I yelled again. "Why do you even watch Phineas and Ferb? All the ever do is build impossible inventions and destroy the stupid evil scientists plans!"

"No, they don't!"

(Meanwhile next door)

Kaity was sitting scrolling through the movies when her own mother walked in to grab something to drink. She heard her mom ask what she was planning on doing that day as she opened the tiny refrigerator with water bottles and sodas stocked up in it.

"I don't know." She said scrolling down a list of movies that were still in the theater. She glance out their porthole at the island. "It's a nice day, so I was going to see if maybe Sam wanted to go onto the island this morning."

"That's fine with me." Her mom said. "But you have to take Natalie with you."

Kaity groaned at the order and threw the remote to the side. "Can I go over to Sam's room?"

"Only if they're up. I don't want you barging in." Her mom said sternly.

Kaity opened her mouth to say something back, but was cut off by screaming and a loud bang from the other side of the wall behind her.

She grinned while standing up and walked toward the door. "They're up." She said walking out the door. She walked over to my door and knocked hard on the white metal door. She heard someone shout "Coming" from the inside of the room.

(Inside the room)

I had underestimated the chair. It couldn't only just not hold us, but it also could not support two girls pushing against the back of it without the fear of it toppling over. So much for strong, expensive furniture. Trina had slid back down to the cushion just as I threw all my weight to knock her off the back. The chair rocked back on its two back legs and stayed like that as it rocked back and forth.

The chair finally decided on the way it wanted to fall. Trina and I screamed as it toppled over and flung us into the wall behind it. I could hear our mom turning off the shower. Wow, that wasn't a long shower. She probably just wanted a rinse off. Groaning in pain, I crawled over to my sister and struggled to pry the remote from her fingers.

"Let go!" I grunted.

"No! It's my remote!" She yelled kicking me in the stomach.

I growled at her as the pain spread over my mid section. I snatched for the remote again, but she pulled it out of my grasp. The only thing that could be heard over our fight was a loud knocking on our door. Our mom had just walked out of the small closet thing and shouted a "Coming" and answered the door.

While Trina was distracted by the interruption, I grabbed her hand and licked it. She screamed in disgust and dropped the remote. I grabbed it and stepped over the chair to plop back onto the couch.

"I win." I stated like it was nothing.

Katrina glared at me and huffed. She sat on the floor behind the sideways chair pouting with her arms crossed like a kid who was just told she couldn't have a cookie before dinner. I pulled up the movie menu just as my mom shut the door. I looked over and saw a blonde haired girl making her way towards the couch.

"Kai!" I yelled jumping to my feet. Kaity smiled we gave each other a hug.

"Hey, Nami." She smiled. Yeah, we're such big Kingdom Hearts fans that we named ourselves after two of the main characters. Our personalities are so close to the characters that we could probably be the real life copy of them if we wanted to. The only difference between us and the characters of the game was our hair color. Kaity had blonde hair and I had a shade of copper brown closer to Kairi's hair color. But she's still Kairi and I'm still Namine. But you're probably thinking that looks should decide what characters we are, but how we look doesn't matter. We base our characters on our personalities.

We both sat back on the couch and I continued scrolling through the movies. We sat there for a while talking about random things until I finally picked a movie and asked what was going on that day.

"How about going down to the island?" Kaity suggested.

"That's a great idea." I said smiling. I looked over to my mom lying on the bed a few feet away reading her eBook.

"Mom?" I called. My mom looked up at me.

"Hey, can I go down to the island today with Kaity?" I asked.

"That's fine with me." She said. "But you have to take your sister with you." I groaned and slumped down the back of the couch. Great, now I have to baby sit her.

Kaity shrugged "That's fine, 'cause I have to bring Natalie if I go."

"Okay." I said thinking. "Then how about we meet at the elevators, maybe, ten or fifteen minutes." I suggested as they announced that people could start getting off the ship.

"Alright. See you in ten minutes." She said walking out of the room.

"Okay." I said again. I walked over to our suit case's that held our bathing suits and pulled out both mine and my sisters. Now all I had to do was get my sister to get ready to leave.

Katrina was still behind the chair pouting when I threw her bathing suit at her. "Hey," I said as she stood up holding her suit. "I'm going to the island with Kaity and her sister, but mom said that I could only go if I brought you with us. So go get ready!" She grinned and jumped over the chair to go get ready. I walked after her to go get ready myself.


	3. To the beach!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter two: To The Beach!

(Twenty minutes later)

After about seven minutes, I was pretty much ready to go. I stuffed my Finding Nemo beach towel and Trina's Nightmare Before Christmas beach towel into my cute blue, black and silver mesh beach bag (a/n: Mesh is netting, for those of you who don't know). On top of the towels in the bag were changes of clothes for my sister and I, sunscreen, sunglasses, my awesome ductape wallet, a book (Evermore, from the Immortals series), and a camera. Yeah, it's a big bag.

I checked and double checked that I had everything I needed. Then I set the bag in the fancy chair (that has been set back up right) and grabbed a couple of water bottles from the fridge to throw on top of everything in the bag. Pausing to rethink, I grabbed two more just in case. "Katrina!" I yelled as I closed the bag. "Hurry up! We're going to be late!" Slipping on my white flip-flops, I glanced at my digital wrist watch at the time. It was almost five minutes past our meeting time. "Nope, scratch that. We are late!"

"I know! I'm coming." I heard her call. She came out of the bathroom and slipped on her shoes.

I hoisted the beach bag onto my shoulder and shoved my room key into the back pocket of the white shorts I was wearing. We waved goodbye to our mom and left the room. Out in the narrow hall, we shouldered past people to the landing for our deck. Stepping in to the crowded room, I spotted a blonde and brown haired girl leaning against the far wall by the elevators. There were a bunch of people around the elevators, waiting to go down. I did not want to jam myself into such a small space with so many people. The thought already had me freaking out.

Kaity and Natalie maneuvered over to stand with us when they saw us. Kaity saw the look of pure torture on my face as I gazed at the crowd before us. Then she fixed her beach bag hanging on her shoulder and turned a 180 to face the fancy double staircase's behind us. "To the stairs!" She shouted pointing at them. The four of us turned and flip-flopped our way down the flights of stairs. We were on deck four when I lost my balance turning a corner to continue down when I bumped in to a person jogging up them and pushed him into the wall.

I turned to help him. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" I gasped.

The guy just smiled and waved it off. "No problem." Damn, he is cute. He had tousled blond hair that reached just past his ears and the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. "What's your name?"

Oh my gosh! He just asked what my name was! What do I say? And I'm staring! Snap out of it! "Huh?" I said brilliantly.

"Sam!" Kaity called from two flights down.

"What?" I said looking away and over the edge of the rail at her.

"Come on!" She called up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I'm coming." I looked at the guy and smiled. "Sorry, I got to go." I said as I hastily stepped down the stairs. "Maybe we'll run into each other again!"

"I certainly hope so!" The guy said with a smile as I turned to go down the next flight. I grinned all the way down to the bottom of the ship. So do I.

The four of us exited the ship and hiked the ten minute walk to the beach of Castaway Cay, Disney's own private island. We set our stuff in a shady umbrella spot before shedding shirts and shorts. I laid my clothes on the beach chair and fixed my swim suit so that nothing would fall out. Because that would just be humiliating beyond anyone's imagination. My swim suit was a two piece, but I wouldn't call it a bikini because the top piece stopped a few inches above my bellybutton, but had no back on it. It was a halter top that was a light turquoise color with a elegant, white spiral, butterfly design. I left on my white denim shorts over the matching bottom. Also, since my hair is annoyingly long, I had it tied back in a braid that stopped at my lower back. My bangs lifted from my face in the wind weakly before settling back down just over my eyes.

I spread my Nemo towel over one of the beach chairs that was in the sun and laid back on it. Leaning forward, I pulled a water bottle out of the bag and took a sip from it. Then, I grabbed my book and sunglasses and became comfortable.

"Wow." I heard Kaity say. "How long do you plan on lying there?"

"Until my skin cells decide to stop being albino." I answered as I turned a page and looked up at her.

She laughed and laid down in a chair next to me as Trina and Natalie ran off to the cold ocean. How do I know that it was cold? Because as soon as they ran in they started screaming about it being freezing. I looked over to Kaity who was laughing at them. Her swim suit was a dark and light purple halter top swim suit. It had a simple design and tied in the back. She was also wearing a pair of light colored denim shorts like me. Her hair hung freely about her face and neck, not bothering to pull it back. A pair of black and silver sunglasses sat on top of her head.

Grabbing one of the waters from my bag, Kaity gave me a sly look. "So, what happened on the stairs? You were talking to someone and the someone's voice sounded young and hot."

I laughed. "I lost my balance on the stairs and completely tripped over myself and shoved this really cute guy into the wall." She laughed as the blood rose in my cheeks.

"Perhaps it's your dramatic romance starting?" She taunted me. I threw my book at her. She just laughed harder.

I sighed and stood up stretching. "Do you want to go look around the island?" I asked while putting on my flip-flops.

"Sure." She said putting on her own.

We told our sisters where we were going and to watch the stuff. Kaity and I walked around the island for about a hour before we decided to see if we could find the teen beach. We found it on the complete other side of the island like the adult beach, but here there was a water fall in a rock alcove, boardwalks, shacks, and even a wooden obstacle course. It was new, from the looks of it, but was being well used by other teens our age. There was even a smaller island that was connected to the big island by a bridge. We went over to the smaller island.

Kaity climbed up and sat on a tree that was growing weirdly out to the side over the small island. I joined her and we sat there talking. When our conversation paused, I looked around the area and felt a wave of recognition wash over me.

"Hey, Kaity." I said still looking out over the island.

"Yeah?" She said turning back to look at me from watching some really hott guys play volleyball.

I brushed a straying hair away from my face. "Does...does this place remind you of Destiny Islands? You know, from Kingdom Hearts?"

"Destiny Island?" She echoed confused.

"Yeah. I don't know why, but that's what this beach reminds me of."

Kaity looked at her surroundings. The ocean that seemed so still, the way the buildings and wooden platforms were built. Even the way the wooden walls were placed along the white sandy beach. "Huh... do you think it was done on purpose?" She asked.

"I don't know... It's weird, right?" I said hoping down off the tree.

"Definitely." She said sliding down too. "Kind of makes you want to start acting out the scenes, huh?"

I laughed and looked back at the ocean with a small smile. We were two teenage girls with fantasies that will most likely never come true. No matter how hard we wish or pretend. Of course, when I was younger I always hoped that my dreams would come true like every other kid in the world. I waited and waited, but they never came. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who ever sat in their room at night, gazing up at all thoughs first stars, wishing on every eyelash, 11:11, and birthday candles. Had hopes like that and watched them be destroyed. Sigh. Talk about living in a dream. Besides... I don't really think I would want my dreams to be real.

My eyes widened at that last thought. It surprised me. Of course I want my dreams to come true. Who wouldn't? But it sounded like some part of me was afraid for them to be real. And maybe some part was.

Shaking the confusing and depressing thoughts from my head, I looked at Kaity with a smile on my face.

"Come on, let's go swim." I said. "We've been on this island for two hours we're not even wet. It's ridiculous." I laughed.

Kaity looked up and smiled. "Alright." She got up. "Race you!" She yelled taking off over the bridge and down to the beach.

"Hey!" I yelled running after her. "You cheater! You're supposed to tell me then run." I said.

"I did!" She laughed. I laughed and pushed her to the side when I caught up with her. Before we hit the waters edge, I ran out of my flip-flops, not bothering with my shorts. I had another pair in my bag. Kaity and I ran laughing in to the crystal clear water. We ran out till we were about waist deep in the water. That was when Kaity realized she didn't bring another pair of shorts and didn't take off the ones she was wearing.

"Aw, crap! Now what am I supposed to wear." I laughed at her misfortune.

As I was laughing, Kaity snuck up behind me and dunked me under the water. I gasped as salty water flooded my mouth and lungs. I kicked my legs and resurfaced six feet from Kaity in shoulder high water. I coughed out water and rubbed my eyes. Kaity was laughing at me as she walked through the water to me.

"Stupid!" I yelled at her. "I could have drowned."

"Yea, but you didn't." I splashed her and swam out farther. We were laughing and kicking water at each other. When we got tired we both flipped on our backs and floated on the ocean. The Sun was already starting its descent down out of its high. The heat of the sun was making me drowsy as the waves rolled under me gently.

"Stop touching me, Sam." Kaity said interrupting my thoughts. "I'm tired."

I looked over at her from where I was almost ten feet away. "Tell me Kaity, how can I be touching you when I'm all the way over here?"

"What?" She put her body fully in the water. She saw where I was and her face changed from confusion to a whole other emotion.

Panic.

"Then what the hell is wrapping around my leg?" She almost shrieked.

Then she was pulled under the water.

...Kaity?

She didn't come back up.

What the Hell?

"Kaity!" I screamed. "Damnit! This isn't funny!" I tried to swim over to where she disappeared, but was stopped. I felt something curling around my leg. I opened my mouth to scream, but I only sucked in water. The salt burned my throat and tore at my lungs, but I screamed anyways. Water and bubbles swarmed over my head as my ears popped under the pressure. The pressure was so strong it pushed against my lungs.

The last thing I saw was a bright light rushing toward me. Then darkness closed over my mind and senses.

* * *

When my head finally decided that I could be conscience again, pain vibrated like a jackhammer through my nerves. It hurt, a lot, but I had to know where I was. I tried to register my surroundings without opening my eyes. They too much stung from the salt. I listened for any sounds first to see if anyone was there. There wasn't. Silence echoed in my ears and mind. Well, that approach failed. I bet you, that if someone blew one of those stupid air horns that I would die from a heart attack.

So, since the listening part didn't go so well, I tried to feel what I was lying on. It felt like something cold. And hard. Well, duh! Of course it's hard. It's the _ground_. I mentally smacked myself and went back to my observations. Maybe it was stone? No, not stone. It felt smoother then stone. Almost like glass...

I finally gave up on my secret approach and opened my eyes and sat up. My body protested at the movement viciously. I felt terrible. _'Of course you do.'_ I thought to myself. _'You just drowned, stupid'._ The only reason I'm not thinking I'm dead is because when you're dead you shouldn't be able to feel pain. And boy, do I feel it. I opened my eyes all the way and slowly stood on my feet.

Well, I'll tell you one thing, the lighting in this place is no different than when my eyes were closed. I looked around the darkness. Scanning it for any possible light. But no light shone around or above me. It seemed to be coming from under me. Then I noticed something I didn't see before.

The floor was glowing.

How could I not have noticed that?

I was standing on a glowing floor. I took a closer look at it.

Huh, I was right about it not being stone at least. Nope, it was glass. Stained glass.

I was standing on a stained glass platform.

Then I knew exactly where I was.

Am I dreaming? Or did I really die?


	4. Awakening memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

(Due to my rewriting of this story, XxSandVilligeGirlxX no longer has any Edits. Which is really sad and makes me cry inside. I'm going to leave in her comments and some of my own, but yeah...)

* * *

Chapter Three: Awakening Memories

It was soon after my realization of where I was that I remembered Kaity and how she was pulled under before I had been.

"Is she stuck somewhere in here too?" I thought out loud, though I knew she probably was. This was just all too confusing. What will happen once someone realizes we're missing? What's going to happen to me here? That's what I had to figure out. I guess... I'll just have to go with whatever happens... I have a feeling that I've just got myself thrown into a blender full of crap I don't know about and put on puree. I guess it's a good thing I'm so open minded_. But I don't think I'm this open minded_, I thought looking at the glass under my feet.

Cautiously, I walked to the center of the platform. The design on the stained glass platform was very different from the one Sora had in the game. That anyone had in the game. Instead of the platform being just a design of me and things that are dear to my heart like Sora's, Roxas' or Ven's, it was, well, a design of faceless people. There were seven or eight faceless figures on the platform. I could recognize some of them as my friends, but the others were Kingdom Hearts characters. The figures were divided in the middle by some unseen force because the faceless Namine and the faceless me were back to back. Except our hands connected in the middle. Like, we're facing back to back, but I'm reaching my left hand back and Namine is reaching her right hand back to grasp my hand. _How strange..._, I thought.

_Memories of a untold past._

I jumped at the voice that echoed in the darkness. I turned, looking for the source of the mysterious voice. After my spin, I stopped and faced where I was before. There was no one there. Unless they were hiding in the darkness beyond the platform.

"Who's there?" I asked the darkness.

_A step in one world..._

A jolt of warmth spread through my veins and I felt myself move forward on the platform. Against my will, I might add. I tried to stop my legs from moving, but failed miserably. Just when I was going to try and do something stupid (like knock my own legs from under me and try to walk on my hands), I suddenly stopped walking. I looked down and saw my feet on the invisible line between the Kingdom Hearts characters and me. My left foot slid forward until it was clearly on the side with my friends.

_...a step in another._

My right foot moved forward to step on the half with the Kingdom Hearts characters.

_An unknown battle unfought._

_So leave it that way_, I thought. I'm not a big fan of fighting. It makes me squeamish. Besides, I didn't even know how to fight. I tried to move my feet, but they were still not listening to my brain signals. I could feel the fear start to build in my chest.

_Do not be afraid._

_'Don't be afraid!'_ _it says!_ Yeah right. This place alone gives me the chreeps. And that disembodied voice only made it creepier.

_Your time has not yet come._

"Good!" I yelled at no one. "I don't want it to come!"

It better not come. I've played Kingdom Hearts and I know what will happen if I'm actually there -which I most likely already am- and with my lack of fighting skills, I have a pretty good hunch that I'm going to die a slow and painful death. Or probably some fate worse then death.

I'm really optimistic today, aren't I?

After my little rant in my head, the platform started to tremble beneath my feet. Did I say something I wasn't supposed to? Probably. Then a sudden light to my left caught my eye.

_Unknown knowledge resides in your mind._

A white marble pedestal rose out of the platform to my left as the voice spoke. A book appeared above it hovering in midair.

_If you let it known..._

Another pedestal identical to the other one appeared, this one right across from me. Hovering above the top was a rose, but it was a strange rose; half of its petals were white and the other half black.

._..it will give you clarity;_

The final pedestal appeared to my right as the voice stopped talking. The item hovering above this one was a sword. Just a plain old sword, nothing special about it.

_Choose wisely_.

I didn't make any notion to moving from where I was standing. This could not be happening. _I have to be dreaming,_ I thought once again. Just reassure myself, I pinched down hard on the skin of my arm. "Ow!" I gasped looking down at the red welt forming as proof to the impossible. I needed to get out of here. I looked around, trying to see through the darkness, but I already knew that I would have to play along with the disembodied voice. _That's how the others got out, anyways..._ I thought as I wearily walked up to the first pedestal with the book hovering above it. I jumped as high as I could and landed on it nicely. Whoa. Super jump. The white stone was really cold under my bare feet. Oh, yeah. I'm still in my swim suit and white denim shorts. My hair isn't wet, although it felt sticky with dried salt. How long was I lying on the ground?

As gently as I could, I grasped the withered leather binding of the book. I turned it over in my hands, examining it. There was no title and when I flipped open to a random page, the words on the pages swirled and twisted among other words and phrases, making it impossible to read.

_The knowledge of a master,  
Fact beyond Truth,  
A book of creation and destruction._

As I stared at the book longer, my mind started to work out the text. It was a endless pattern, turning and swirling, giving the illusion of a jumbled mess. But as I worked through it, made sense of the pattern, I could see sentences forming. What little I read made no sense at all. It seemed to be talking about a light shinning in the middle of the darkness, but inside that light was a brighter light... or something like that. Oh, my head hurts. I shut the book.

_Is this the power you seek?_

"Um, no. I want to see the others first." I said letting the book slip back into its hovering position.

Turning around, I jumped down and walked over to jump onto the middle pedestal. This one held the rose. Without a second thought, I picked it up and looked it over in my fingers. The rose was beautiful, in a strange way. The white petals and the black petals varied on the dark green stem in such a way that it felt hypnotizing. The way they were placed... It was like they couldn't survive without the others support. In the center where a white petal and a black petal met, a light shade of gray formed. The gray seemed to churn with darker grays and lighter shades.

_The war in between,  
Visions of Twilight,  
A rose of corruption._

It was sad, how the light always fought against the dark. This rose really reflected that nature. There were black and white petals and the touched each other without dying, but they didn't take on a shade other then the pureness of their color. But in the center... they fight. Always fighting for the right shade. Such fighting... it tears apart any light that's left and diminishes the dark. Before long, Nothing is the only force that will remain. _It really is corrupted_, I thought twisting it slowly in between my thumb and fingers.

_Is this the power you seek?_

"No, and stop asking me. I'll tell you when I decide." I said getting annoyed. Impatient much?

Letting the rose drift back into its hovering abode, I jumped off and onto the last pedestal. Attentively, I grabbed a hold of the hilt with my right hand and the blade with my left hand. It was a big sword. It looked very much alike to the one Sora had in his Dive into the Heart.

_The power of a swordsman,  
Lethal companion,  
A blade of strength and steel._

The sword weighed no more than a feather, but a sudden weight settled on my mind. The will to carry out this swords purpose is a light burden to the body, but the affect in the mind and soul was more than one would think. It is that reason, I don't like to fight. A soul could be just as easily ripped apart as this sword could take out a whole army. No thank you.

_Is this the power you seek?_

"No, defiantly not." I said setting the sword back into its position again. I jumped off and looked over the three objects.

Decisions, decisions...What the heck should I pick? Let's think about this logically. Well, the sword is defiantly out of the question. So that narrows it down to the book and the rose. Hm, let's see, the book entitles me to knowledge and the rose entitles me to...what? Now that I think about it, the rose didn't really say anything about giving me anything useful. So, since I have no clue what the rose does for me, I'm going to go with the book. I walked over to the book and accepted it. It shimmered and disappeared in my hand.

_Your path is set.  
Now, what will you give up in exchange?_

Equivalent exchange. I take something and it wants something in return. Well, if that's what it wants, it can have the sword. I don't care for it and although I don't know what it's for, the rose seems important somehow. I jumped down from the pedestal, yet again, and walked over to the sword. I jumped on to the pedestal and grabbed the sword. It asked if I wanted to give it up and I said yes. It disappeared like the book.

_You've chosen the knowledge of a master.  
You've given up the power of a swordsman.  
Is this the form you choose?_

"Yes." I said clearly.

After I said my answer the ground started to tremble again. I stumbled off of the pedestal and watched the three of them sink in to the ground. And then the unexpected happened. Well, not totally unexpected. I knew I was supposed to fall into darkness at some point, but instead of the floor tearing up like shredding glass, it lit up in a honeycomb pattern. I ran futilely to stand in one of the patterns. Then one by one, the small shapes dropped into the darkness, taking me along with them. I didn't have time to scream, so I didn't try. I just stared off into the darkness around me as a odorless wind blew up at me from the blackness below me.


	5. Challenging memories

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Four: Challenging Memories

Falling is not a pleasant sensation, I can tell you that. Especially if it's feet first right into a bottomless pit of darkness. Half way through the fall, I twisted myself around until I was falling with my arms spread out and my knees bent with my feet pointed into the rushing wind. The only way I knew which way I was falling was the wind. It wasn't really even very strong to be called a wind; perhaps a breeze? Who knows. I don't know how much time passed, it felt slow, like hours, but it could have only been a few minutes for all I know. As I contemplated this, a pin prick of light appeared in the darkness and it was rushing up towards me fast. But even as I fell, I seemed to slow down tremendously. The light was the circle of another stained-glass platform. The design on this one was a little strange...

The platforms main color was a spring color green with a white rim all around it. A wooden bow curving around a moon in the shape of a heart. Eight arrows appeared in the picture, each pointing in one of the eight directions. Each tip of every arrow was a different color. That varying colors, but different shades and tints of gold. Around the edge of the platform on the rim were what appeared to be gem stones. They were so beautiful. I could only recognize a few of them – like aquamarine, turquoise and opal. But the rest of the stones were ones I'd never seen before. Honestly, I didn't really know that stones could be that colorful.

I finished my examination as I fell toward the platform and landed gently feet first. Well, that was nice of whoever's in charge of this thing. Now, if only they would show me the way out that didn't involve me having to go through with this process. Then I would be the happiest person alive. Or dead. I wasn't really sure about my physical status at the moment.

As soon as I was stable and no tripping over my feet, the voice started its 'annoy-Samantha-out-of-her-mind' game again.

_You've gained the power to fight._

"What?" I yelled shocked. No way, this could not be happening. A bright light shimmered around my left hand and I was suddenly holding a archery bow in my fist. It was a longbow and when I held it parallel to me, it stood just a little under my eye level. I hate long bows. Their super hard to shoot with. Guys usually use them because they have the strength to pull it back.

_Now you must learn to use this power._

"No! I don't want to!" I yelled almost panicking. But anger started to override my fear. This was so not fair. Damn all the forces that brought me here.

_There will be times you have to fight._

As it said this, a shadow heartless crept its way across the platform. I saw it as it slinked toward me and I panicked. I hurriedly backed up as far as I could go without falling off the edge of the platform. What am I supposed to do? Even if I wanted to fight it, I couldn't. The bow was still in my hand, yes, but it was useless - I wasn't given any arrows. What do I have to do? Whack the heartless with it?

_As long as you see the light, let it flow._

_'Let it flow? That was no help! How do I do that?'_ I thought. The heartless formed out of the ground and stood just a few feet away from me. Several more heartless join it. Two of them just so happened to be Neo-Heartless. I'm going to die. Okay, I've got to think. Stop panicking and think. Alright... thinking... focus on thinking.. still thinking... Arg! It still didn't make sense! "What do you mean?" I yelled at the voice. "How do I make it flow?"

The shadows inched closer and one rose above the ground. Two more followed it. It's antenna twitched before jumping forward. Everything happened so fast. I screamed, waiting for the weight of the creature to land on me. But instead, I gasped as my left arm suddenly lifted and pointed the bow at the creature. I didn't have any control over my body as my right hand lifted and touched the cord of the bow. The moment I touched it, a electric shock tingled across my finger tips. I watched as a reverberation of electric waves washed over the wood. The grip in my hand started to warm and then the bow started to change right before my eyes.

Electric waves flashed over the bow in a pattern before flashing a bright light that blinded my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I saw the bow I had been holding was gone. In its place was a white wood compound bow with a shimmering silver cord laced through the pulls. All along the wood were bronze vines with jade stone leaves that twined and curled the two foot length of the wood. On the silver cord was a shining crystal bead where one would knock their arrows. Every few seconds, a current of light would run along the cord from the bead over the bow.

Completely transfixed by the object, I started when two fingers on my right hand snagged the cord around the bead and pulled it back to my ear. My feet spread from one another and I formed the archers "T" stance. Then my fingers then let go of the cord without a arrow on it. The cord snapped back with a empty "Thwp". What the heck was that all about? There were no arrows to fire at the heartless!

My heart jumped as one of the shadow heartless suddenly disappeared in a cloud of darkness. What? I blinked and saw that a strange light was protruding from the glass platform where the heartless had been. The light flickered twice before dissolving in the air.

I stared at the spot in silence. What the heck? It had invisible light arrows? Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other heartless move toward me. I whirled to the shadow and copied whatever I had done before. The only difference this time was that I was the one controlling my moves. The heartless disappeared and, again, a thin beam of light stood in its place before disappearing into the air.

It must be whatever light I have inside of me. Somehow I must be channeling it through myself and into the bow, creating arrows made of light. Regular arrows probably wouldn't harm the heartless, now that I think about it. Like how Sora's wooden sword didn't do anything to the heartless on Destiny Island or when Roxas couldn't harm the Nobodies with his struggle weapon. Only weapons made of one of the three forces can harm beings from those forces. Huh, how interesting.

More heartless appeared out of the shadows and I took care of them fast. Just as I was about to destroy the last few, the shadows stopped attacking and melted into the platform before I could shoot them. But they didn't leave. They slinked into the middle of the glass floor and created a huge black hole. The blackness spread wider and wider every second. Futilely trying to avoid it, I took an automatic step back – totally forgetting I was on the edge of the platform – and screamed as I fell back into the darkness.


	6. Translucent memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Five: Translucent Memories

Groaning from the ache in my ribs and head, I blinked open my eyes to the dark void above me. This whole dropping into darkness has got to stop. I'm not going to be able to move once all of this is over. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pushed myself up and bunched my legs under me to push myself to my feet. I ran a hand gently over my forehead with my eyes still closed. Why couldn't this place give me stairs or whatever the heck are. Sora and Roxas had them, why can't I? Maybe it's because I'm a girl and this place is just sexist. Typical.

Sighing, I ran my hand down my face and opened my eyes. My hand froze over my mouth and my eyes spread to the size of plates.

Where is the platform?

The space underneath my feet wasn't a stained-glass platform, but the darkness stretching forever on. I froze. The platform was clear! All I could see was the darkness. I couldn't see the edges. I couldn't even see if the heartless were nearby. Hell, I couldn't even see myself. I waved my hand in front of my eyes. I felt a light breeze sweep over my cheeks, but I couldn't see my hand. Lowering my hand to my side, I stood absolutely still. I need a light. Just something to see where the edges of the platform were. Maybe...

Bending over, I felt along the ground until my fingers bumped into a smooth object. I grasped the object and closed my eyes. I pulled on the thin, warm strand of light within me and channeled it to the cord of the bow. Feeling the warmth spread from my hand to the cord, I opened my eyes to see a sudden light sweep the area around me. Once the change was complete, the bronze vines and jade leaves gave off a subtle glow. It was better than pitch black darkness. With the light, I could see the edges of the platform. Now at least I won't walk right over the edge.

_The memories you keep are unseen,  
Locked away from the side of your heart._

In the glow of my bow, the darkness of the platform seemed to ripple and about ten feet away... things started to rise out of the platform. They almost looked like creatures made out of water or glass. One pulled itself up and stood gazing at me as it's skin glazed over and took on a glassy shimmer. The figure was about as tall as me and stood in a stance that gave off a feminine feeling.

_Memories of hidden trials of sorrow and anger._

A second glassy figure rose out of the rippling darkness. This one was the same height and stood with a sense of vulnerability of the body, but strength of the soul and mind as the creature fixed me with a unrelenting stare.

_Memories of truth and lies._

The platform rippled once more and a third glassy figure rose up. This one was different though... She stood with the stance of a child, but had no physical features of one. Her gaze held innocence and warmth, but you could see that by the way her head was tilted and the way she held her arms that she was no child.

_Memories of the door to the past and future._

The three figures walked forward toward me. Slowly, taking careful steps, but not stopping. Even when it seemed that they were going to collide with each other. I took small steps back, glance back to be sure I wouldn't walk off the edge. But the figures wouldn't stop. When it finally seemed that they would knock into the others, all three closed their eyes and stepped into each other. You read that right. They stepped _into_ the other. A bright white light emitted from the creatures, blinding me. I covered my eyes with the back of my hand, squeezing my eyes closed.

_The keepers merge and form to become one._

When the light faded, I removed my hand and blinked open my eyes. Staring straight ahead of me, my jaw dropped open and my eyes widened in shock. Standing before me was... me. Not exactly me, but she looked like me. Those creatures merged with each other and created a copy of me. Although, I didn't look like me...

The girl who looked like me wasn't wearing a swim suit like I was, but a completely different outfit. She was wearing a white sleeveless turtleneck with two black belts crossing over her chest, forming a 'X'. A pair of white short shorts with a thick silver belt was around her waist with a golden heart shaped moon as a belt buckle. Sleek white boots stretched up to her knees, stopping just below them. A charm bracelet hung on her left wrist and three silver bangles were on her right. Two necklaces hung around her neck. One necklace sat close to her neck, bearing Sora's crown charm. The other hung a bit longer and bore a strange symbol of a crescent moon with four points and a blue gem. The part of her appearance that was weirdest though was her face and hair. Her skin was a lightly dusted bronze, but her hair was the purest white I had ever seen. It was like the white of newly fallen snow or that of a bright star. And her eyes... they were like molten gold. Churning as though reflecting the thoughts of her mind. She looked almost exactly like me, other than that. How strange...

_But don't be afraid;  
this is your fate._

The clone snapped those gold eyes to my own green and narrowed them. She held out both her hands and a shimmering light enveloped them. When the light disappeared, a keyblade was in each hand. _Holy crap..._ I thought taking a step back.

_And always remember..._

_Remember? Remember what? Finish your sentence! You stupid-_ My thoughts were interrupted as the girl ran forward and swiped at me with its keyblades. I screamed and just barely dodged them. She swiped at me again. I held up my bow to block her attack and turned and sprinted away from her. I didn't know what to do. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her running after me. I stopped and turned just as she was a few feet behind me and stuck out my leg to trip her. She couldn't stop fast enough and slid across the ground. I looked to the ground and saw the glow from my bow illuminate the edge of the platform a foot away from where the girl landed. Oh my gosh, I could have run over the edge.

The girl got to her feet and charged me. I held my ground. She swiped both keyblades at me, and I dodged both swings. That's strange. I feel like I know how to move so that I don't get hit. I gasped as the girl slid into me after failing to stop and back away. I started falling backwards and initiatively reached up to grab her. My hand grabbed something in the dark, but whatever it was snapped from my weight. The girl opened her mouth in a silent scream and dissolved in a flash of white and gold. My back hit the ground, my hand still clutching whatever I pulled off her. I lifted it up to the glow of my bow and saw the necklace with the moon crescent, four points, and blue gem. As I looked at it, a faint golden light emitted from it. It seemed to be a sort of pattern or something being imprinted into the moon, but it wasn't bright enough to see.

Not knowing what was going to happen next, I braced myself to move into a sitting position. I tried to move my arms, but found that I couldn't lift them. Rolling my head to the side, I saw a faint purple and black glow surrounding my forearm and shoulder. I pulled harder, but the darkness wouldn't budge. I looked to my other arm and saw it in the same state. To make it worse, I think I'm slowly sinking into the dark. I tried to move my legs, but they, too, wouldn't lift out of the slithering blackness. I struggled with its hold, but I was quickly disappearing in the dark portal beneath my body.

It was like quicksand. The more I struggled against it, the faster I was pulled in. I screamed as the darkness crept through my hair and over my mouth and eyes. Cutting off all sound. I tried to breathe through my nose, but it was suffocating me. I don't know how I heard it, because my ears had been covered long ago, but somewhere in the darkness I heard the voice whisper the last words I would ever hear it say.

_And always remember...  
You are the one who will end this war._

The whisper echoed in my head until unconsciousness over came my sense's. The last thought I had before I lost consciousness was if Kaity had somehow gotten out alive...

* * *

Well, I can't really say I was conscious. I thought I was dreaming at the time. Or dead. Whatever physical state I was in, I just knew that I could focus on the sounds around me. Although, the sounds seemed to be just whispers echoing through my head.

I heard the sea. The soft waves crashing against the shore. I heard the wind as it rustled the leaves of some trees in the distance. But closer was the sound shifting sand as though someone were walking across it. I focused on the voices that came with the footsteps.

"-e on, Riku. Just a quick race?" I heard a boy say somewhere in the distance to my right.

"I already said 'no', Sora." Said (what I guessed to be) an irritated Riku.

A nagging feeling pulled on my semi-conscious mind. The feeling of familiarity. But when I tried to think about it, my mind threatened to black out again. So instead I let it go and just listened to the voices.

"He'll just beat us again, Sora. He always does." I heard a boy say that wasn't Sora.

"You two are just too slow." Riku said. His voice seemed closer. "I could- Hey, who's that?" I heard the footsteps speed up and stop close to where I guess I was lying.

"Who is she?" I heard Sora ask.

I heard someone kneel in the sand next to me and check my pulse. "She's alive." Riku said ignoring Sora's question.. "But just barely. Her heartbeat is really faint." I felt a hand brush back the hair from my face. The pressure stung my skin like I had a sunburn, but I know I don't because my skin doesn't feel hot.

"Do you think she's with that other girl?" I heard the other boy ask.

"I don't know. Roxas," I heard Riku say. "Grab that weird object over there. It could be hers."

A whole new feeling of pain washed over me as I felt two arms pick me up and cradle me. I felt my lungs seize and let out short gasps of breath. What happened to me? How did I become so beat up? could it have been the darkness? The questions slowly slipped from my mind as my head rested against a warm chest. The sinking feeling of losing consciousness was coming back.

"I'm going to take her to Kairi's. She needs help" Riku said as he started walking through the sand again. The rocking sensation wasn't helping me stay awake.

"Wait a second," I heard Sora say as he walk to Riku's right. "What if she's an enemy?"

"We will just have to find out when she wakes up, won't we?" Riku said, his voice rapidly fading from me. And that was the last thing I heard before everything was enclosed in darkness once again.


	7. Reunited once again

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

Chapter six: Reunited Once Again

I have no clue where I am. I don't know what time it is. I'm not sure how I got wherever I am. I don't even know if I'm alive for goodness sake!

And yet, I'm not panicking.

I couldn't panic even if I wanted to anyways. A fog was clouding up my head and prevented any emotions from springing forth. As my mind became more active, so did the rest of my consciousness. My senses were fighting the fog covering my head, allowing thought and sensations to register in my mind. But as I was able to register the emotional signals from my brain, anxiety was the only emotion that I could feel. As my mind slowly reined its full awareness, a throbbing pain hammered across my body. It felt like I had been crushed by a bulldozer. Every inch of my body hurt from head to toe. Every muscle throbbed and every breath I took caused my lungs to seize from the pain. I know that I'm not dead, but I had to be well on my way there. Or at least that's what it feels like. I could smell salt everywhere. Like I had been swimming in the ocean all day and never took a shower. I guess my drowning experience was worse than I thought. Not to mention the Awakening. I don't want to move. I don't even want to open my eyes to see where I was. I just want to sleep.

But I can't.

I have to get up and find out what is going on. I don't really like not knowing where I am. And I was getting worried about Kaity. We both had drowned. We both had disappeared. So I guess we both went through the Dive into the Heart thing.

_I wonder if she's here too..._I thought slowly. _Wherever here is._

Lifting a hand to my eyes, I gently whipped away the dried salt gathered there so that I could open my eyes. When I was sure no crap was going to stop my eyes from opening, I slowly cracked them open. The room was very dim, but my eyes still stung from the little light in the room. Refusing to close them, I kept them cracked until they adjusted to the level of light. Opening my eyes wholly, I saw the pale outlines of the objects in the room around me.

Wanting to see my complete surrounds, I pushed myself up to a sitting position and hissed at the sharp pain that shot up from my bruised ribs. What happened to me? How the hell did I end up so thrashed? Maybe this is what happens to you when you take a trip through the darkness. Although, they never had shown Sora in so much pain after he traveled through it. The ache around my ribs was a dull twinge now. Maybe the pain just doesn't last long... Something to ask about. Pushing my hair behind my ears, I looked around myself.

The room was fairly small and plain. A guestroom, for sure. I was sitting in a twin sized bed covered with fresh white linen sheets. To my left, there was a window with dark colored curtains drawn so that any light that tried to enter the room was blocked. That would explain why it is so dark in here. Sliding my attention from the window, I took in the rest of the room. The walls surrounding me were a shade of baby blue, a white dresser sat across the room on the far wall, and a bed side table sat to my left under the window with a solitary lamp sitting on it. Other than that, the room was pretty much empty.

I pushed back the crisp sheets to examined the condition of my body. My eyes widened. All over my body there were faded yellow bruises. That would explain the ache that covered my skin. Holding my breath, I gently ran my fingers along a gash that spanned my whole belly above my navel. With each stitch I touched a twinge of pain shuddered across my skin. _Where did I get that?_ The gash seemed mostly healed. Now that I think about it, most of my injuries are healed. I've got to find some answers.

Making sure there were no more mysterious gashes, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. I groaned at the ache. My leg muscles hurt like hell. But I can manage; I always seem to. I stood up and staggered to the side. I gripped the bed post to stop myself from toppling over. Stupid two left feet. You're going to end up giving me more bruises.

I gained my balance and moved to look out the window. I could remember every detail about what happened before I passed out: the voices, the fact that they mentioned another girl here, and the names they had called each other. I knew that I had somehow ended up in Kingdom Hearts. But I was in denial. I was having a really hard time believing in something I know doesn't exist. I attentively reached out and pushed aside the curtains. Blinking at the sudden light, I peered out into the late morning sunlit town. I gasped and unlatched the window to push it open. It was true. _It's all really real,_ I thought leaning out the wide window.

Behind the curtains was Destiny Islands. The sunlight rained down across the mainland, creating breathe taking patterns. Buildings sat everywhere and went on to the edge of the beach and just a ways off shore, there was a small island with many trees. It was really Destiny Islands. But this is impossible, right? I mean, how could I be in the Kingdom Hearts realm? I had to be dreaming. That has to be it. Pinching the skin of my left arm, I jumped and gasped at the sharp pain. How could this not be a dream? How did I even get here?

The ocean. Something grabbed my leg and pulled me under. Somehow I must have been pulled through some kind of portal into the ocean of Destiny Islands. Then I must have been washed upon the beach unconscious. While I was out, I must have had my Dive into the Heart. Well, if I was being tossed among the waves, that would explain the bruises and gash. I must have hit some rocks. It's amazing I didn't drown.

Pushing off from the window ledge, I peered around the room. I need to get out of here_. But I don't want to go down stairs._ I thought while staring at the closed door. I'm too scared to face them. I'm actually more afraid of fainting then them smiting me or something. But theres also another problem...

If this really is the Kingdom Hearts realm, my being here could destroy the order of the whole realm. Like the whole space time continuum thing. Just them encountering me could have screwed something up. I looked back to the window. I was about two stories high and there were no trees anywhere close to the window. So escaping through the window wasn't an option. And what was I going to do if I could escape? I'm completely alone in a realm that isn't mine. Well, not really alone. Kaity is here somewhere... I tore my eyes from the window and to the door.

_It looks like I really don't have a choice..._ I thought defeated.

I let my eyes roam over the bed and spotted some clothes folded on the edge of the bunched up sheets. I walked over and picked up the article of clothing on top, holding it out to see. It was a white tank top. Sorting through the pile, I had a whole outfit laid out across the bed and a pair of white ballet flats. Checking that the door was firmly closed, I started changing.

As I reached back to untangle my hair from the straps of my top, I felt something metallic under my fingers. Following the strand, my hand came to the front of my top and landed on a smooth charm. Lifting it so that I could see it, my breath froze. It was the same charm. The same necklace that girl was wearing. Lying the silver object in the palm of my hand, I traced the crescent moon and four points jutting out from it like a 'X'. The gem was a beautiful shade of Carolina blue and seemed to have a subtle shine to it. Etched into the crescent moon was a outline of Sora's crown and two Wayfinders among gentle swirls. One Wayfinder was green and the other pink. I turned the charm over and over between my fingers. Why do I have this? Is it because I pulled it off the girl?

Deciding to just keep it on, I pulled off my suit and shorts and put on the clean bra and underwear that was also in the pile. Picking up a pair of short denim shorts, I slipped them on and pulled on the tank top. A light blue jacket was also in the pile and I pulled that on too. Everything fir perfectly. I wonder how they knew my size. I tucked the necklace into the tank top and slipped on the flats. I threw my suit and shorts into the waste basket in the corner. I wouldn't need them anymore. Pulling my fingers threw my hair, I walked over toward the door and opened it careful not to make a sound. Once I saw that the way was clear, I slithered into the hall.

I didn't bother closing the door. Instead I stood in the empty hall, listening for any activity in the house. A low hum was coming from up the stairs at the end of the hall. A TV? Do they even have TV's in this realm? I cautiously moved toward the sound. Taking one step at a time. I was three doors away from the stairway when low thumps came from it. Oh God, someone's coming up them! What do I do? What do I do? I looked around franticly and grabbed the nearest door knob on my left and yanked it open. I dashed into the room and quietly shut the door just as the steps touched the landing.

I stayed in my spot, holding the knob in a death grip. What if I'm in the room they need? What if they saw me? I held my breath as the person walked down the hall. And continued walking. Letting out a relived sigh, I let go of the knob and relaxed. Turning around, I lifted my eyes to see a rush of blonde and blue. I let out a yelp and fell against the door behind me.

"Sam!" a happy voice exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, am I glad to see you! I thought you died or something!"

"Shhh! Keep down your voice." I snapped, scared that whoever was in the hall heard her. I didn't hear rushing footsteps, so I guess they didn't. With the danger gone, I hugged the blonde haired girl with all my might.

"I thought I lost you." I whispered. "You won't believe what I've been through." I said pulling away. Kaity smiled and walked over to a bed in the room. Looking around, I saw that it was another guestroom. I walked over to the bed and sat on the end.

"I bet I've been through the same thing." She said while slipping on a pale purple pair of flip flops. She wasn't wearing her swim suit anymore, ether. Instead, she was wearing a pair of shorts, a purple tank top and a three quarter sleeve white jacket. These clothes must be Kairi's. If I see her, I'll make sure to thank her for them.

"Kaity, do you know where we are?" I asked.

"I sure do! And I'm confused, excited, scared, and happy all at the same time!" She said with a nervous giggle. "It's really overwhelming." _The understatement of the year_, I thought tiredly. Only Kaity could feel so many emotions and not explode on the spot.

"I mean, Sam. We're in _Kingdom Hearts_." She said sitting next to me. "It's a miracle. A dream come true. And you don't seem the slightest bit excited as you should be. I'm over hear about to break a nerve and your sitting there like a heartless in the realm of light. What's up?"

I looked at her face and cracked a small smile at her statement. Then I stood up and faced her open window, crossing my arms. "I don't know. There's just this feeling in my gut that something's wrong." I glanced at her. "Don't get me wrong though, I'm overly happy of what's happened, but I'm also scared to hell. And my confusion is over riding every emotion."

"Don't be too frightened." She said getting up. "Number one; I'm here and I'm freaking too. Number two; just think, now we'll get to meet Sora and Roxas in person!" She said wiggling her eyebrows. I laughed. "Why not live in the moment and ask questions later. Just for now."

That's the kind of person Kaity is. Living in the now, not yesterday or tomorrow. I one of those people that look to tomorrow and spend the now preparing for it. Yeah, bad way to look out on life, but that's who I am. Maybe that will change one day. Maybe not.

"But, just out of curiosity, what's your theory, oh Deep Thought." She asked. The Deep Thought part is a joke 'cause I over think everything.

Ignoring the name, I pushed my hair behind my ear. "I don't know."

She groaned and frowned at me. "You're not telling me everything."

_Curse you nervous tell-tale sign! _When I push my hair behind my ears, I'm ether nervous or in really deep thought and on the verge of a revelation. Over the years, Kaity has picked up my body language and I hers. Comes in handy when for some reason if we can't talk.

"I'm not sure what to think. I need to assess the situation." I muttered flickering my eyes to the door. Even though I really don't want to venture about this world, we have to know what's going on.

Kaity sighed. "Right. Well then, we better get going."

The two of us went to the door. Kaity grabbed the knob and turned it. She glance at me before sticking her head out the door. Then she walked out and I followed her. The hall way was empty. I looked back to the room I had been in, seeing the door still open. I didn't think I left it that wide though. huh, maybe I did.

We walked down the hall and came to a stop at the top of the staircase. We stopped on the top step, peering down into lower level. Voices wafted up. I was so not going down first.

I cleared my throat and whispered nervously."G-go ahead, Kai. No need to wait on me."

"Are you kidding?" She hissed at me. "I am not going to walk down into the unknown and suddenly have my head chopped off. You go."

"What, so that I can have my head chopped off?" I mocked.

"Exactly." She said pushing me in front of her.

"Kai! No, stop. I am not going down first!" I growled at her as she pushed me forward. "No, seriously-"

"What are you two doing?"


	8. Pretending

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Seven: Pretending

Kaity and I screamed Bloody Mary and whipped around to face the voice. In the process of turning, Kaity flung her arms out and elbowed me in the gut. I huffed as the air was knocked out of my lungs and my foot slipped from the top step. My foot hit the next step and then it just all went downhill from there - literally.

I yelped as I tumbled down the twenty-six step staircase. Yes, I counted them. How could I count the stairs as I was falling head over heels down them, you ask? I just kept track of the number of _'Ow's'_ that echoed in my head as it hit every freakin' one. I rolled off the last step and kept somersaulting across the bottom landing and into a table against the wall across from the staircase. My back banged against a table leg, making whatever was sitting on top of it wobbled and fall over the edge. I didn't hit me or shatter against the floor though. Weird.

Reaching behind my head, I seized my head and held it. My teeth grinded from the pain exploding across my body. So much for mostly healed bruises. I could already feel the bump forming on the back of my head. I just curled up into a fetal position and tried not to cry from the pain. At least nothing was broken...that I know of. My ribs were on fire, but not the pain from broken bones. I took a slow deep breathe and groaned at the searing ache of my lungs.

"Sam!" Someone said from far away. I growled into the cool floor. Whoever said that was going to die if they speak again. My head felt like it was going to explode and all the talking and frantic sounds didn't help. Oh God, please don't let me have a concussion. Footsteps thundered down the stairs and stopped in front of where I was lying.

"Oh my God!" I heard Kaity say from somewhere near me. "Sam! Are you alive?"

"No." I moaned in pain.

"Jeez, Sam," I heard Kaity say with relief. "You're such a klutz."

"Shut up." I groaned. "Head. Voice. Hurts." I groaned into the wood floor.

Opening my eyes, I blinked a few times to clear the fuzziness from the shapes around me. After batting my eyes against the fuzzy images, I lifted my arms to peer out from them. There were so many pairs of shoes around me. Looks like I caused a scene. Fully removing my hands from the forming bump on my head, I used my arms to push me up to sit criss cross on the floor. The first thing I saw when I looked around was blonde and silver. Kaity, who was kneeling next to me with a concerned/about-to-burst-out-laughing look on her face, moved back when I sat up. Behind her was Riku leaning slightly over us both. A amused smirk was on his face. Oh, how I wanted to wipe that smirk off. I didn't think my situation was funny at all.

Looking over toward a doorway on my right, two other figures were standing in the room. One had brown hair and the other had blonde hair.

"Oh, God." I groaned silently in despair and humiliation.

Casually leaning against the door frame was Sora, staring at me with wide eyes. The commotion must have startled him out. Woops. I ran my eyes over him, taking it all in. He wasn't in his Kingdom Hearts II outfit. Instead, he was wearing a pair of dark colored jeans and a red tank top with a short-sleeved black hoodie. Also instead of his huge yellow, black, and white shoes, he had on a pair of black vans with red laces. His hair was still styled in gravity defying brown spikes and his eyes were still the same drop dead gorgeous blue.

After I was done looking over Sora, I looked over at Roxas. He was standing a few feet away from me holding the lamp that fell off the table in his hands. Well, at least now I know why it didn't shatter.

Roxas was wearing basically the same outfit he wore in the game. The only thing different was that he didn't have on the short-sleeved jacket he always wears. Therefore, he was just wearing his black sleeveless shirt and cream-colored pants. And, of course, his black, red, and white shoes. His hair, like Sora's, was styled in gravity defying blond spikes. The only difference between the two styles was that Roxas had more spikes in his hair then Sora does. And, you know, his is blonde. Then there were his eyes. The same drop dead gorgeous blue as Sora's.

Roxas set the lamp back on the table and turned to stare at Kaity and I. I flickered my eyes to the three of them. They all were staring at us weirdly. And I was still on the floor.

I blushed from head to toe. _God, this so embarrassing._ I picked myself up off the ground, wincing as I stretched my bruised muscles. I silently cursed all the forces of gravity. Whatever force brought us here was really sadistic. First, they made me drown, then they had me tossed around in Dive into the Heart, and now they have me falling down a flight of stairs. That or someone just really doesn't like me.

Kaity helped me stand up from the floor. Now what do we do? Say "Hey, how ya'll doin'? Do you know why we suddenly appeared in your realm? Yeah, your realm. You see, we come from a galaxy far, far away and we need you to help us get back before we disrupt your space-time continuum. No, we're not crazy. Who are they and why do they have needles?". Yeah, I don't see that going over too well. It's probably best that they don't know where we're from until we know why we're here.

"Uh, sooo...-" Kaity said looking around at all the boys.

"...Who are you guys?" I asked interrupting Kaity from whatever she was going to say. Kaity looked at me with a look saying "What-the-heck-Sam-we-know-who-they-are". I pushed some loose hairs behind my ear and smiled shyly at the guys around us. Kaity saw my sign and relaxed. She knew I had thought of something and that it was just better for her to play along.

Sora and Roxas exchanged a look before looking over at Riku. "And where are we?" I asked a moment later after no one said anything. From the silent conversation between them, it seemed that they were debating on whether to tell us anything. What do they think we'll do? Knock them over the head and steal away on the Gummi ship? If they even have the Gummi ship.

After a moment, Riku walked from behind Kaity and told us to follow. Jeez, why is he so serious? He needs to lighten up. What does he think we'll do? Although, he has good reason to be so closed off. We're too strange girls that just appeared out of the middle of nowhere. For all they know, we could be the next thing to disrupt the order of the worlds.

...I'm not even going to comment on how true that could be.

Kaity followed him into the next room with Roxas behind her. I went to follow him, but stopped when a sharp pain pierced my mid-section. I lifted my shirt to see that the gash had reopened. My tumble probably pulled the thin layer of skin apart. I gently ran a finger over the wound. Blood stained my fingers when I pulled them away. Crap.

"That doesn't look to good."

I looked up to see Sora examining my reopened wound. "No kidding." I scoffed.

Sora reached into a pocket and pulled out a small object. "Here," He said handing it to me. "This will help."

I lifted the object and saw that it was a small round vial with shimmering green liquid in it. It looked gross. "What is it?" I asked.

"A potion. It will heal the wound and make the rest of your bruises disappear." He stated. "We gave you some when we first found you. But you were so battered that we couldn't give you enough to completely heal you without making you sick. It's been long enough, so you can take another."

"Thank you..." I said looking down at the little bottle.

"No problem." He smiled and went into the other room. I uncapped the vial and downed its contents. Oh, yuck! I made a face at the empty vial. That stuff is gross! I was still making faces when I walked into the room. My bruises and gash disappeared though.

The room was nice. Very bright and homey. There was a white mantel fireplace with random picture frames on it. A flat screen TV was hanging on the wall above the fireplace mantel with a couch about six feet from the mantel and a oak coffee table sitting a couple feet in front of it. A matching loveseat and chair sat on ether of the couch's sides and a few other random objects scattered the room. Yeah, okay, everything may look all homey and stuff, but to me, everything looked so _fancy_.

Oh, Jeez.

Riku had sat in the chair to the left of the couch while Sora and Roxas took over the couch. Kaity was already sitting on the loveseat. She was on the side closest to the couch, so I sat on the arm of the seat farthest from the couch. I didn't want to sit. The TV was sporting a epic blitz ball game, but disappeared when Sora picked up the remote on the coffee table.

Seeing the remote reminded me about my fight with my sister that morning. Silently, I wondered if she was okay. What did they think happened to us? _How long has it been since Kaity and I disappeared? _That was the question. How much time has actually past? We could have been out for days. Did time move the same here as on earth? Or was one faster and the other slower?_ Is anyone searching for us now?_ It frustrated me that I didn't have any of these answers. A noise pulled my thoughts. I looked up at Riku. He was looking at me expectantly. Like he's expecting me to say something. Aw, crap. I zoned out and he probably asked me something.

"Uh, sorry." I apologized sheepishly. "Zoned out." I blushed again despite myself. Stupid, stupid me! I've got to be paying attention.

"Told you." Roxas said chuckling at me. Kaity snickered as my blush deepened. I definitely missed something. Damn my easily distracted mind.

"So, uh, what were you saying?" I said trying to distract them.

"We introduced ourselves." Sora answered.

"Oh, well, please start over." I said indicating my hand at Riku. "I'm paying attention now."

Riku smirked and pointed to himself. "I'm Riku."

"I'm Sora." Sora said cheerfully.

"Roxas." Roxas said simply.

"Well, it's nice to meet you all." I said politely. "My name is Sam." I said pointing to myself.

"I already said who I am." Kaity said. "'Cause I wasn't off in dreamland." I thumped her in the head.

"You two know each other?" Sora asked bluntly after seeing us react to one another.

"Obviously." We both said at the same time. We looked at each other and laughed.

"Then would you both mind telling us how you ended up here?" Roxas asked.

That's what I want to know. But I don't so how do I answer? That we were sucked into a ocean on our world and appeared here? No, we can't tell the truth. I have this feeling in my gut that is telling me that it would be a very bad thing to tell them where we are actually from. And as for the how we got here part...I have no clue. I mean, we where sucked into the ocean! All right, I think I have a plan. Moreover, the plan is called "Jack Sparrow". We will just make it up as we go. Very simple.

I glanced over at Kaity. She was already starting to say something. I opened my mouth to cut her off, but I wasn't fast enough.

"We...Um..." I scratched my neck while burning holes into her skull. It was our sign for "lie like a rug". She saw me and closed her mouth. All eyes were trained on her. "I don't really...remember." She looked over at me while casually wiping one eyebrow and sweeping her hair back. Another sign. She need help making it up and need me to create a ground to stand on. "Do you remember how we got here, Sam?" I guess this is supposed to be the part where I put on a fake confused expression. But I didn't need to. I was really confused. What am I supposed to say? Well I need to say something.

"Uh, not really." I said slowly. I looked down at my feet as they lightly brushed the floor. I closed my eyes. Well, we could tell half the truth. They just can't know that we're from a different realm. "All I remember is water. A lot of water. I couldn't breathe. Then...nothing. Just darkness." I said opening my eyes. I looked over at the boys. "I don't remember coming here. Wherever here is." That would be a good question to ask. "Where are we?"

"You're on Destiny Islands." Sora answered. "Our home world."

"You think you both drowned and somehow washed up on our shore?" Riku asked leaning forward. I don't think he believes what I'm saying. Typical.

"Um, I guess so..." I said trailing off.

"What were you doing before you think you drowned?" He asked.

"Swimming, obviously." I ridiculed.

"I meant before that." He retorted.

Kaity answered this time, but only after sending me a sharp look. I gave her a "What?" look. She only rolled her eyes. "We were sparring on the beach." She said confidently. "I remember that much. After we were done, we decided to cool off in the ocean. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a room I don't know."

The three guys exchanged a look.

I knew where the boys were trying to lead us. They were trying to get us to say where we're from without being too obvious. Well, if they want to know, they'll just have to ask the stupid question. Is it so hard to just say "Hey, what's the name of your world"? The only problem is that I can't tell them the truth. I don't know if there is a world here called Earth. Maybe I could give them a fake one? They don't know every world out there, so I could give them a fake one. I just hope that it doesn't bite me in the butt later...

Just as I came to the decision, Riku asked the predicted question.

"So," He said looking us over. "This is going to be a weird question, but...What is the name of your world?"

Kaity stayed silent, expecting me to answer. Good. I had one.

"Castaway Cay." I said confidently. "It's our island."

"Castaway Cay..." Sora murmured thoughtfully. "I've never been or heard of the world before."

"Been there?" Kaity said looking at Sora. "What, can you, like, travel to different worlds or something?" Good Kaity. Maybe being a actress is a future for you.

"Yeah, actually." Sora smiled. "Kind of cool, huh?" I swear could hear Kaity's heart pick up a beat from that smile. Oh, boy...

"Really cool." She smiled back.

"So what you're saying," Riku said, ignoring the interruption. "Is that in your world, Castaway Cay, you both were sparring on a beach and decided to go for a swim. Then, I'm guessing, you were hit by a tidal wave or something, nearly drowned, and somehow ending up here in Destiny Islands?" From the way he said that, I don't think he believes us at all. No...He believes that we are from a different world and that we were somehow transported here, but he thinks that we're hiding something. Not telling the whole truth.

I can see that backfiring on us.

"Yes," I said narrowing my eyes slightly, but remaining confident in what I was telling them. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Riku nodded slightly and seemed to get lost in his own thoughts. I'm going to have to be careful with what I say around him. He thinks too much. I could accidently slip up and it would all be over.

"Oh yeah." Roxas said suddenly as if he just remembered something. He stood up from his spot on the couch and walked into the other room. "I almost forgot." He said coming back into the room with a object in his hand. "We found this close to where we found you, Sam." Roxas lifted the object and offered it to me. "Is it yours?"

In his hands was the long bow I had been given from the Dive into the Heart. "Oh, yeah," I said taking it in my own hands. For some reason, it seemed a bit shorter. I stood it in front of me. Yup, it now stopped at my elbows. Huh. Wonder why it changed... Maybe because I can carry it around easier now?

"You have a bow?" Kaity said surprised. "Where did you get that?"

"What do you mean Kaity," I said through gritted teeth. "This is my bow, I've always had it." Why? Why now?

_Come on, Kaity._ I thought desperately. The guys were watching us with weird expressions. _Hurry up, Kai. This is not a time to make mistakes!_

Kaity narrowed her eyes at me in confusion. "What are you talking about, Sam? You've never had-" She stopped talking abruptly when she saw my eyes harden and narrow. Her eyes widened in realization and horror, realizing what she said and our remembering our situation.

She had just admitted that she didn't know about my bow. If we had really been sparring before we drowned or whatever, she would've known I had one. However, in reality, she doesn't know because I never told her that I got a bow from the stupid Dive into the Heart. Ugh. This is my fault. I should have told her about the Dive into the Heart earlier. But I didn't, so now she has to cover her mistake. And the clock is ticking.

Kaity quickly wiped the horror from her face and sunk her head into her hands. I could practically hear the wheels turning in her head as she tried to think of someway to make Riku, Sora, and Roxas pass over what she had just said. I searched desperately in my head. She's not speaking quick enough. "Don't you remember?" I said confused. I made my jaw relax. "I brought it with me to the beach. You know, just in case I decided to do target practice or something." I made a scene of looking the bow over for any casualties. "It must have been caught in the same tide that got us or something."

"Crap." Kaity whispered silently to herself. "Must've hit my head on something hard. I can't remember much from before or after we went to the beach. Just flash's." Kaity sighed while gently rubbing her temples. "Sorry guys. Short term memory loss." I mentally relaxed as the guys seemed to casually brush it off.

I could still feel Riku watching our actions. It's surprising he didn't just accuse us of lying on the spot. A blind person could see that we were.

"Don't worry." Sora said giving Kaity a reassuring smile. "After a bit of food and rest, I'm sure you'll remember everything soon enough."

Roxas nodded, "Yeah, when we're done talking, you too can have a look in the kitchen. I'm sure your famished."

Huh. I didn't know Roxas and Sora were blind. But right then, my stomach gave a small rumble. _I'm so taking up his offer. _I thought staring at the kitchen doorway longingly.

Kaity gave them a small sad smile. "I'm sure." I yawned. Wow, I'm also really tired. I looked over at Kaity. She looked almost dead on her feet. Except she's not on her feet...she's sitting down. Whatever, I'm tired! I groaned and moved to collapse on the small couch, sitting next to Kaity. I'm too tired to support my weight on the arm. I looked over to Sora. "You said that you travel to different worlds, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we travel in a vessel called a Gummi Ship." He explained. "When the passages between the worlds are opened, we can travel between them."

I thought for a moment about that. _Well, wouldn't it be convenient if earth was in this realm._ I thought tiredly.I highly doubt it is, though. Earth isn't Disney. Now that I think about it, what is earth to this realm? Though there are many Disney movies based on earth, none of the worlds would be like our earth. The real earth, because they'd be centered on the movie theme for that world. But perhaps there's a way to find it...

I was still worried about Trina and Natalie. What would they do once they figured out Kaity and I are not on the same island as them? Much more, in the same realm. How are we going to get back to them? Can we even return to our own world?

The questions just keep piling up. For what reason are we here? Who or what brought us here? And how can we get back? Those questions are the only major ones I have at the moment. In addition, my instincts are telling me that the only way we are going to find the answers to those questions is if we leave the islands. And we really need to find some answers. So the only thing to do is figure out how the hell we are going to get off this world and figure out where we have to go to find the answers.

Riku shifted in his seat. "Actually, we have to leave later this afternoon. If you two happened to wake up before then, we were going to give you the choice of ether staying here or coming with us."

"And your awake," Sora said. "So you have a choice of coming with us or staying here."

Wait, what?

"Wait a second, why do you have to leave?" Kaity said curiously.

"A few days ago, we received a message from someone." Riku explained. "The king, to be exact. He has summoned us to his castle and told us to arrive as soon as we could. The three of us were going to set out for Disney Castle this afternoon."

"The king?" I asked faking interest. "What king?" Of course, I already know that there talking about King Mickey. What actually captured my curiosity was that they received a message from him. Could it be the same message that Kairi found at the end of Kingdom Hearts II?

Sora answered my curious question. "The king of Disney Castle governs all the different worlds." He explained. "He watches out for them and takes care of the world order. If anything happens or goes wrong with any of the worlds, he's supposed to know. His job is to make sure that none of the worlds are disturbed."

"The amazing thing is that he knows every single world there is." Roxas added. "He could help you find your home."

I know that Castaway Cay isn't a real Disney world. But by going with them, maybe we can find some answers.

"Do you really think that he will be able to help us?" I asked him.

"I don't know. But there's no harm in trying." Roxas said kindly.

I smiled and nodded my head. "Alright then. We'll tag along with you." Perhaps we will find our answers there. Or at least it will be a good place to start.

"So then," Roxas said. "We'll just wait for the girls to return and then we'll head off." Huh? Wait a second. Girls? What girls?

Did he mean Kairi and Namine?


	9. Just talking

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Eight: Just Talking

When our discussion was over, Kaity and I excused ourselves to find something to eat. I knew that as soon as we left they would start talking about us and what we had said. _I wonder if they knew that we were going to talk about them too. _I laughed at the thought.

"What's so funny?" Kaity asked while going through a cabinet.

"Nothing." I said waving it off. I opened the fridge and closed it, instead going to another cabinet.

After much searching, we came up with a few packages of ramen, a apple, a orange, and some weirdly named drink that looked like grape soda. Tasted like grape soda too.

We set a pot of water on the stove to boil for the ramen. There was a island in the middle of the kitchen with four chairs, I grabbed a seat and waited for the water to boil. I reached over and grabbed the orange and started to peel off the rind. Kaity rinsed the apple and took a bite out of it before she sat down in the chair across from me.

"So," Kaity after she swallowed. Her tone was low. Now it's my turn to answer her questions. "Why did you tell me to lie? Things would have been so much more easier if we had told the truth." She took another bite from her apple.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair as I finished peeling my orange. "I'm not exactly sure. I just... got this feeling that it wouldn't be in our favor to tell them where we're actually from." I said just as quietly. "Maybe they know something about earth and our realm? And it's something bad and they'd kill us? I don't know. But going to see the king is a good idea. Maybe he can help us figure this out. Or point us in the right direction."

"Okay..." She said shrugging. "You're the queen of weird feelings, so we'll just go with that for now." Not a title that I love. I always have these stupid natural instinct feelings. Freaky part is when I'm right. But I've learned my lesson and I act on them. "So where did you get this weird bow?"

I took a bite from my orange before remembering that I left the bow out in the other room. "I got it after whatever happened to us in the ocean. For some reason, I somehow ended up in Dive into the Heart."

"What?" Kaity said surprised. "Seriously?"

"Yup." I said taking another bite out of an orange slice. I lifted my eyes to meet Kaity's. "What happened to you after you disappeared?"

Kaity took another bite from her apple. "I went to Dive into the Heart too." She said with her mouth full.

I nodded thoughtfully. What I don't get though is that when you go through the Dive into the Heart thing, you usually are able to summon the keyblade afterwards. But we couldn't. Or at least, I couldn't. I think Kaity would have told me if she could though. So if I ended up getting a bow, then Kaity should have gotten something too, right?

"Really? Did you get anything?"

Kaity smiled and set down her apple before she laid both of her hands out on the table. "I got these."

On her hands was a pair of black fingerless gloves. I don't know how I didn't notice her wearing them earlier, but I did. Guess I was too distracted. Thick silver lines crossed each other on the back of the gloves like an 'X'. A deep purple lined the rim of the silver. Other than that, the gloves were pretty boring. There didn't seem to be anything special about them at all. Then again, my bow is pretty boring when it's not transformed too. Once Kaity thought I had my fill of looking at her boring gloves, she clapped both her hands together. A clear shimmering substance covered her hands and the gloves started to change.

The gloves stayed black and fingerless, but the purple lining along the silver began to glow like a neon sign. Bronze colored thread wove itself across the smooth black material of the glove and left behind a shimmering pattern. The pattern looked like a very intricate design of waves rolling across black water. The silver 'X' on the back of each glove glowed a little and started to... I don't really know... It looked like it started to _move_. Yeah, that's exactly what it was doing. The silver started to swirl, cycle, and mix as different shades of silver flooded the strips.

"Whoa!" I said swallowing a bite of my orange and almost choking.

"Yeah, I know, right?" Kaity said excited. "And that's not even the best part."

I barely saw what she did next. Kaity lifted her right hand above her head and brought it down in a fancy, show-off move. When she stopped her hand just above the counter, three kunai were sitting in between each of her fingers. (E/N: Kunai are ninja knives. Daggers, sort-of. Google it.)

"I can summon metallic objects!" She said excitedly. "Isn't that awesome?"

"Heck yeah!" I grinned.

Kaity flicked her wrist and made the kunai disappear. She picked back up her apple and took another bite from it. "So, what about your bow?" Kaity said talking around a mouthful of apple.

I groaned. "Please don't talk with your mouth full, Kaity." She stuck her tongue out at me. "My bow transforms, too." I said ignoring her retaliation. "I would show you, but it's in the other room." I took another bite.

Kaity looked over at the stove. "I think the water is boiling."

I looked over at the pot and sure enough, bubbles were covering the top of the water. Standing up from my chair, I opened the two ramen packets and dropped them into the steaming water. Instead of sitting back on the chair, I hopped up next to the stove to keep a eye on the noodles as they cooked. I leaned my head back against the cabinets and lazily stirred the noodles into the water.

"So," Kaity said getting up to throw away her apple core. "Why do _you_ think we're here?" She sat back down and propped her feet up on a nearby chair.

The question of the day. But why do I think we're here? We have nothing to benefit the Kingdom Hearts realm. Not that I'm saying that we don't have talents, because we do. But they're just recreational talents. Kaity can sing and can play trombone. I can draw and play the keyboard. We have experiences in other things as well, but none that would really benefit us here. So tell me, what good are those talents here? In this place you have to fight, kill Heartless, and fight some more. We'd be pulverized in seconds.

"I don't know, Kaity." I said thoughtfully. "But whatever it is, we're going to find out." Kaity nodded in agreement. We both sat in silence while our food cooked. Kaity seemed to disappear into her own world, and I into my own. What use are we really? Sure, we could fight combat if we had too, and I'm sure we could help a bit with whatever Sora's next mission is, but we wouldn't have been transported here if it wasn't something dire.

I stirred the noodles one last time before pouring the flavor packets into the hot water. After nearly destroying all the cabinets, I found two bowls and served the noodles into them. Pulling two forks out of a drawer, I set one bowl in front of Kaity and one in front of myself when I sat down. Then the silence continued as we ate.

Our thoughtful stillness was interrupted by Sora and Roxas cheering from the other room. Thats' when I realized that they had turned back on the game they were watching. From the cheerful yells, I guess their team had scored.

Kaity tilted her head towards the room and placed a sad longing look on her face. In a matter of seconds, the sad longing look was replaced with a flirty look. Not even having to ask, I knew that she wanted to go and talk to Sora.

"No." I said firmly. "Don't do it, Kaity."

"Aw, why not, Sam?" She whined. "It won't hurt anything."

"Yes, it will." I said peering up at her. "We don't need any more complications right now, Kaity."

Kaity looked at me, confused. "Complications?"

"You. Sora. Kairi." I said while ticking off my fingers. "We are not even going there."

"Oh, come on, Sam." Kaity said staring at me in disbelief. "Do you actually think that I would cause a war over Sora? When I already know that he's Kairi's?"

Truthfully, I didn't know how to answer that one. Since Kaity and I live so far apart, I rarely get any news about her at all. And vice versa. We know one another, but hardly see each other. I think that's' why we get along so well. We don't see each other a lot and aren't really involved in the others drama and life, so it's just easier for us to be ourselves around each other. To tell each other all the crap that's going on with ourselves and our worries and stuff. I never really thought about it, but our friendship is a really easy, laid-back one. Friendships like that seem to last longer, I guess. And survive life. Huh. Guess that's why we've been friend for so long.

How long has it been? Five...almost six years. Wow. I never actually realized how long I've know Kaity. I don't know how we seemed to retain such a connection, but we have. It was almost like the day we met, we were destined to be friends... Maybe that's it. Destinies holding all the strings and somehow made us come to this realm. Let me tell you something: I hate destiny. I can go die. I control my choices and what happens to me.

Anyways, now that I've gone way off topic, I trust Kaity and I believe her. If she says she won't try to steal Sora from Kairi, she won't try to steal Sora from Kairi.

"No, I believe you." I said while mixing my ramen. "I'm just really worried. Us being here is already changing the chain of events." I looked at Kaity with seriously. "Before we know it, we're going to mess something up so drastically that we're going to destroy this whole universe/space-time continuum _forever_!" I finished my proclamation by throwing my hands up in the air.

Kaity stared blankly, "You've been watching Back to the Future again, haven't you?"

I lowered my hands and narrowed my eyes at her warily. "...Maybe."

Kaity sighed. "Well, I have a counter."

"Oh, yeah?" I said. "Let's hear it."

"Maybe we're not screwing up anything at all by being here," She said while pointing her fork at me. "Because we were meant to be here from the very beginning."

I just sat there in silence. After a minute, I narrowed my eyes at her. "Damn you for screwing up my theory. Now I have to start all over."

Kaity laughed while I took my frustration out on rising out my empty bowl at the sink. She followed a moment later. After she was done, she leaned against a counter while I returned to my seat. When I looked at her face, I was surprised to see a bit of fear in her expression.

"Sam," She said hesitantly. "What if we're stuck here in Kingdom Hearts forever?" She looked into my eyes. "What if we can't ever get home?"

I stood up and gave her a hug. "Don't worry, Kai. We're going to get home. You can count on it." I don't know if it's the truth, but, by all the forces of Earth, Heaven, and Hell, I am going to make it true.

I pulled away and gave Kaity a reassuring smile. Kaity gave a small smile back. And I believed it. We will get home. I don't know when, but we will.

That was when we heard the front door open and two soft female voices enter the threshold of the house.


	10. Messing up and calming down

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Nine: Messing Up and Calming Down

Quiet voices came from the other room and floated into the kitchen. Kaity and I stood where we were. We didn't want to walk out into the room unexpectedly and scare the two girls that had just entered the house. However, we did walk up to the doorway and peer around the corner into the room.

We heard the door close and saw two girls walk into the room. They were our age and height, but were a bit thinner than us. Which would explain why this tank top feel a bit tight around my hips. The auburn haired girl walked over to the couch and sat next to Sora while the blonde haired girl went to sit next to Roxas on the loveseat. Since both of their faces are turned away from me, I couldn't see them. But even though I couldn't see their faces, I already knew who they were.

The two girls were Kairi and Namine.

Well, the whole gang is here now.

Deciding that we should enter the room and figure out when we were leaving, I walked out into the room standing a few feet from the couch. Riku saw Kaity and I enter and focused back on the game on the TV. No one else seemed to notice us enter the room. So much for instincts.

"So," Kairi said as she settled down on the couch. "How are our two guests?"

"Uh..." Sora noticed us standing there. I just smiled and leaned on my elbows on the back of the couch.

"Actually, we're doing great." I said almost right next to Kairi's ear.

Kairi gave a small, startled shriek at the sudden sound of my voice and jumped up from the couch right into Roxas, who had also risen in surprise. Kairi toppled into Roxas making him lose his balance and trip over the coffee table in the middle of the floor. He fell over backwards and landed on the floor below him with a nice, hard '_Thump_'. Namine only gave a startled shriek and turned to face us.

Kaity walked up behind me looking at the scene I had created. She stared around the room a moment longer before cracking up loudly at the reactions. Sora and Riku joined her after they had registered what happened. I continued to speak despite the chaos.

"Other than the swelling fatigue and the aching pain still lingering a bit on the back of my head, I'm doing absolutely fine." I turned to Kaity. "How about you, Kai?"

Kaity just kept laughing as the others tried to settle down.

Sora heard my question to Kaity and stopped laughing. A confused frown was now in place of his usually goofy grin. When I noticed the sudden change, smile slowly slid of my face as well. I returned his confused look at me. _Why is he looking at me like that?_ I thought. Did I say something? I mentally reviewed what I had just said. As I ran over one particular sentence, my face froze in realization. I carefully composed my expression to hide the look of horror that was threatening to show. I slipped up. Big time.

I had called Kaity '_Kai_'.

I had called her Kairi.

Ah, crap.

_He noticed_, I thought while carefully matching his gaze. What do I do? I kept the confused/why-are-you-looking-at-me-like-that look on my face. Sora mashed together hiseyebrows and I raised one.

"What?" I asked.

The others had noticed the silence between Sora and I and stopped laughing to focus on us. Roxas had already picked himself off the floor and sat back down next to Namine. Everyone was looking at Sora and I with confused looks. Jeez, have you ever been in a room where every person in the room was giving off the same emotion? I hadn't until then and it was not the coolest thing in the world to feel. It was making me nervous and uncomfortable. Which means that I'm guilty and I have something to hide. Great.

"Uh...Did you just call Kaity '_Kai_', Sam?" Sora finally spoke up. "As in, _Kairi_?"

Every ones' moods shifted. Kaity fixed her terrified stare on me. Kairi, Namine, and Roxas were still confused. Probably about why I would call Kaity such a thing. One glare in particular was drilling a hole into the side of my head; I just knew it. Riku's suspicious glare was directed straight at my me. Great. It's going to be a challenge to keep our secret from him much longer. We're probably going to have to tell him sooner or later. But it's going to have to be later. Right now, I have to get back to the matter at hand. I hate spacing out. It's really- Gah! I'm doing it again! Okay, Sam, focus. Focus and stop spacing out.

"Um...No?" Come on! I need an excuse. "...Why would I call her, Kai?" I said through my teeth "I said, uh, Kai." I blurted out. "You know, like K-ay? It's, um, short for Kaity!" I sweat dropped as I finished and mentally died. There was no way in Hell they would believe that story. I'm going to die. _We're_ going to die. We're going to get found out and then die.

"Oh." Sora said looking embarrassed now. "Sorry. I must be hearing things. It just sounded like you said Kai."

I gripped the back of the couch to keep myself from collapsing on the floor in relief. I laughed in relief and reassurance. "It's okay!" I said with a smile. "I was mumbling. You didn't hear me correctly." I smiled and mentally collapsed. _We're not going to die..._ I thought laughing nervously in my head. I really need to think before I speak.

I looked up and met Riku's glare. He still had that suspicious gleam in his eyes as he stared at Kaity and I. After a moment, he shifted his gaze back to the game on the TV.

_Well, we're not going to die by Sora's hand at least._ I thought solemnly and winced away from the hard glare. I stared down at my hands with a sad frown on my face. We're really going to have to tell him, aren't we? Not at the moment, though. Later. We probably will need someone to know the truth sooner or later. I just don't know if Riku's the best choice...

Kaity walked up behind me and discreetly whacked me over the head. I cringed knowing that I totally deserved it. Then without any warning, Kaity shoved me to the side and onto the floor. I yelped as I fell onto my butt. She just stuck her tongue out at me and turned to Kairi. Kaity stuck her hand out to her.

"Hi." She said happily. "I'm Kaity." Kairi smiled at her nicely. Jeez, her smile is so pretty. It's no wonder why Sora likes her so much.

"I'm Kairi. It's nice to meet you." She grasped Kaity's hand. As soon as she gripped it, she pulled her hand back violently with a pained expression on her face. Kaity snatched her own hand back just as quickly. What the heck?

I picked myself up off the ground while asking, "What's wrong?"

Kaity and Kairi both gave each other puzzled looks. Kairi was the first to speak. "I-I don't know." She said, uncertain. "When I grabbed her hand...it felt like something shocked me."

That's weird. Something shocked her? Just by grabbing Kaity's hand?

Kaity was rubbing her right hand (the one Kairi grabbed) gradually. She was nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I felt it, too." Everyone had confused looks on their faces; again. Why is it that we are always confused? We really need to find some other emotion to overuse.

I sighed aloud and reached my hand over to touch Kaity's shoulder. Nope. No shock. I did the same to Kairi. Still no shock.

"Perhaps it was just static." I suggested. "You know, like static shock?"

"Yeah," Kairi said thoughtfully. "Maybe."

They exchanged a wary look and just brushed it off. I went over to Kairi and introduced myself to her as Kaity introduced herself to Namine. After Kaity was done, she went and sat on the floor space in between the couch and the loveseat.

I went to introduce myself to Namine. I extended my hand to her. "Hi," I said politely. "I'm Sam."

"Hello," She said smiling courteously. "I'm Namine. It's a pleasure to meet you." She took my friendly gesture. When our palms met, a jolting shock went from my hand and up my arm. I gasped in pain and pulled my hand away sharply. Namine also cringed in pain and retreated her hand. _What...was that?_ I thought as I peered at my palm. It felt as if three hundred thousand bolts of electricity went through my bones. It hurt; a lot. And from the look on Namine's face, she had felt it too. _How strange..._ I thought as I tenderly rubbed my sore arm.

Kaity pointed at us. "You guys felt it, too!" Kaity gasped from the floor. "Didn't you?"

"Yeah..." I was staring at Namine and she was staring back.

That definitely wasn't a static shock. But then...what was it? _Gosh, I'm getting a headache now_. I thought tiredly. I lightly shook my head and went to go sit down on the floor in front of the fireplace. I took a moment to actually look at Kairi and Namine. I mean, this is the first time I've seen them, well, not in the Kingdom Hearts video game.

Kairi, like Sora, wasn't wearing the same clothes that she wore in the game. Instead of the short pink dress she had been wearing at the end of the second game, she was wearing a short pink denim skirt with the same black belt with the brown side bag. The skirt was a shade of dark pink with a silver flower design along the bottom of the piece of clothing. With that, she was wearing a plain white tank top with one of those vests that stopped mid-torso. It was the same kind and color of denim as her skirt. A black cotton hoodie was attached to the vest. She was wearing the same shoes and bracelets and necklace she always wears around her neck. Other than that, she looked like she had in the game. If anything, she was prettier. Her hair had a more reddish tint to it and her eyes were still oceanic. Bright and dazzling.

After I had scrutinized Kairi, I looked over to Namine. She was wearing something more simple and basic, but not really all that plain. Instead of the short white dress she wore in the game, she was wearing a short pleated denim skirt with a belt similar to Kairi's, except it was white with two small light blue coin bags on each hip. With that, she was wearing a white cotton vest lined with blue and a light blue tank top was underneath the vest. For shoes, she was wearing a pair of blue and white wedge slip on sandals. Her light blonde hair was the same, if not longer, and her eyes were the same shade of blue as Kairi's. Except, Namine's eyes seemed calmer and more thoughtful than Kairi's.

I came back to reality and realized that while I was zoned out studying Namine and Kairi; Riku, Sora, and Roxas were explaining mine and Kaity's story to the other girls. They had just finished talking when I focused in on the conversation again.

_I keep zoning out... _I thought, annoyed. I blame the hovering cloud of exhaustion around my brain.

"Alright." Kairi said considerately. "If the five of you are going, then you are going to need supplies." She stood up from the couch and walked toward the kitchen to get together some food for us to bring along on the journey, I guess.

"It only takes about six hours to get there." Sora said standing up and stretching. "So, snacks should be fine, Kairi."

She walked out of the room with a "Whatever you say, Sora" called over her shoulder at him. He smiled a sad smile after her. Later, when I thought back to this moment, I realized that I was the only one to notice his sudden expression. It made me sad, seeing him so torn. Weird part is that I had this strange ache in my chest. It surprised me. I felt bad for him, but I didn't feel _that_ upset. While I sat there puzzled about the strange sadness, Sora left the room and headed up the stairs.

Namine got up and went into the kitchen to help Kairi. At the same moment, Riku and Roxas followed Sora out of the room and went up the stairs as well. Dismissing my thoughts, I went over everything that had just happened. I smiled an eager grin, jumped up from my spot, went over, and sat next to Kaity.

"I can't believe it." I grinned. "We have finally met the Kingdom Hearts characters."

"Yeah, I know." Kaity said dreamily. "I never imagined that Sora would be so much cuter in person and that Kairi would be so much prettier."

"Same here." I giggled. "And now we're on our way to _Disney Castle_."

"Yeah..." Kaity said trailing off. She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "Sam, what do you plan on doing once they figure out we're lying?" She whispered just loud enough for me to hear. "I mean, there taking us to see the _k__ing_! We know that _Castaway Cay_ doesn't exist, obviously, but what will we do when they figure it out?"

I thought about it for a moment_. What __will__ we do?_ I had no plan B. They couldn't kill us, could they? Would they even understand the truth if we told them? I had this funny feeling in my gut. But I couldn't tell what it was trying to tell me. All I know at the moment is that we need to keep up our charade for as long as we can. At least until we figure out what to do. After that, we'll decide what to do.

I thought back to the suspicious glare Riku had given me. _Then there's Riku_, a voice in the back of my mind said. I groaned mentally. We have to tell him. There is no avoiding it. I whimpered silently on the inside. I didn't want to tell him and face him alone; I hate to admit it, but I'm scared to. I mean, I know he probably wouldn't kill me, but I don't _know_ him. He could have a sudden change of heart and smite me on the spot. However, maybe he would help us if we told him. We could certainly use some help.

I looked at Kaity. "I haven't thought that far ahead." I admitted. "You know, you could try to think of something, too." I suggested while glancing back at the doorway the boys had walked through. " Also, I was going to mention it later, but we're going to have to tell Riku the truth. Or else he's going to be blocking our path. Whatever it may be."

"Yeah, I know." She said glaring at the doorway that lead to the stairs. "He's too observant for his own good." Her eyes slid back to mine. "However, that's your fault, you know." She said looking back at me with a mocking gleam in her eyes.

"What?" I said taken aback. "Why?"

"Because, you're such a bad actress." She laughed. "You can't lie, Sam. It's one of your flaws."

I crossed my arms like the stubborn, immature teenager I was and stuck out my tongue at her. I told lies perfectly fine. I was just completely caught off guard with the whole '_Kai_' thing. "Well, at least I can think of excuses fast when _someone_ messes up."

Kaity stuck her tongue out at me and stood up from the floor trying to avoid the lecture she knew I would be giving her. I rose as well, already starting to tell her off. A few seconds later, the boys walked into the room. Kaity and I jumped when they came into view. We were expecting to hear them walk down the stairs, but they made no noise at all. I wish I had that talent. Damn them and their noiseless habits.

"All right." Sora said as he continued walking into the kitchen. "We're ready." Sora had changed out of the casual outfit he had been wearing and was now back into his black, yellow, and red outfit from Kingdom Hearts II.

Okay, I'm guessing that the guys all went up stairs to change or grab something, because Riku was now holding a small drawstring bag and a ring of keys and Roxas was now wearing the rest of his outfit. Wait a second. Keys? What are the keys for? And what's in the bag?

"Hey, Riku," I said curiously. He glanced over at me with a 'what do you want' look. "What's in the bag?" I said while poking it.

All right. I admit it; I'm noisy. Bite me.

"Just various potions and elixirs." He answered, while reaching into the bag and drawing out one of the small bottles to show me. The bottle looked exactly like the one Sora had given me earlier.

"Oh." I said while adverting my eyes to the couch. Feeling the weariness of my bones hit me all of a sudden, I walked over to it and fell back onto it. I could have a moment of rest while they finished gathering themselves. I closed my eyes against the bleary light around me and waited to leave. However, before that could happen, something unexpected and heavy landed on my stomach. I groaned in sudden pain and cracked open an eye to see what it was. It was Kaity. (A/N: Not saying that you're fat or anything, Kai. 'Cause your totally not ^_^) (**SVG**: -laughs-)

"Ah, jeez. Couldn't you sit somewhere else?" I moaned in pain as she shifted to get comfortable.

"Nope." She said while leaning against the back of the couch. I sighed in exasperation.

A few minutes later, Kairi and Namine walked out of the kitchen with a bag of food and drinks. Sora trailed behind them and followed them to the front door.

"Are you ready?" Roxas asked Sora.

"Yup." He replied, as Kairi handed the bag of food to him. He took it and slung it over his shoulder.

Seeing that as a sign that we were leaving soon, I pushed Kaity off of me and onto the floor. I got off the couch and walked over to my bow to pick it up. Kaity picked herself up off the floor, silently cursing me. I grinned and slung my bow across my chest. I looked up at the rest of the gang. "I'm all ready."

Namine walked over to the door and held it open for us. Kairi was looking at Sora like she wanted to say something. As did Namine, looking over to Roxas. Kaity and I exchanged a look and stepped outside with Riku after he said goodbye to Kairi and Namine. A moment later, Roxas and Sora joined us, and we all looked at each other before looking toward the sun and walking down the road that would lead us to our new journey.


	11. Fear of flying

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter ten: Fear of Flying

Sora, Roxas, Riku, Kaity and I started to make our way down the dirt path. As we made our way down the path, Sora glanced back to look at Kairi as she stood in the door way with a content expression, but a sad look in her eyes. Namine shared the same look. Watching him look back at her, not knowing when or if he was coming back... it hurts the heart. I saw Roxas copy Sora, but instead looking back to Namine. Kaity and I saw this and exchanged a sympathetic look before continuing on. The five of us walked toward the beach silently. The silence wasn't one of those comfortable silences either. No, it was one of those stupid tense/sad silences. Like the silences that people get before they go off to war... Hm, maybe we are going off to war? Who knows.

When we got to the beach we all headed over to some boats tied up to a dock. After much arguing and confusion, we all piled into two of the wooden contraptions. It was a five minute trip from the main land to the island. It wasn't a bad trip, but silent. When all five of us were on the soft sandy beach we started to head toward the small island connected to this island by a wide wooden bridge.

"Um...," Kaity said confused, "Where/What are we doing?"

Roxas glanced over his shoulder to Kaity and I (who are lagging behind) and said "Getting a ride."

Kaity and I glanced at each other confused. What ride could they be getting? Keeping our questions to ourselves, we continued following them to the small island. I looked out over the sea, watching the waves roll against the sand and slide back into the light waters. A child-like grin spread over my lips and I veered away from the group to go walk through the small waves. I slowly walked along the shore line, twirling and jumping over the waves. Looking out over the sparkling water, I thought about how I always used to do this when I was a kid. But… there's this weird feeling I have that I had done this more times then I remember. Hearing laughter from the shore, I looked up to see Kaity and Roxas watching me as they walked. I smiled and blushed, turning back to the water. How embarrassing to be caught acting childish. Even though I've been told that most of what I do and how I act is based off a child's curiosity. I looked down through the water and saw something glimmer in the sun.

"Huh?" I bent over and pulled it out of the water. It was just a plain cream colored shell with blue and purple tinted edges. It was really pretty. I twirled it over in my palm before pocketing it. Looking up, I saw the rest of the gang up on the wooden bridge that led to the smaller island off the shore.

"Hey!" I called running toward the shack that led up to the bridge. "Wait for me!" I ran up the dark stairs and out the door into the sun once again.

"Slow poke!" Kaity called over her shoulder.

"I'll show you who the slow poke is!" I yelled playfully. I barreled toward Kaity at full speed. I heard her let out a startled yelp as she started to run across the bridge.

I pushed past Roxas and Riku who were blocking my path. When I was in range of Kaity, I dove to the ground and grabbed her ankle, making her trip and fall on her face in the sand. I let go of her ankle, stood and laughed. Then suddenly I was back on the ground with my face in the sand. Huffing, I rolled over and kicked at Kaity in the back (not hard, but with enough force to push her several feet away from me). I watched her roll away from me, but she didn't stop rolling soon enough. Instead, she kept tumbling before disappearing from view.

"Kaity?" I said confused as I pushed myself up onto my elbows. Then that was when I noticed how close to the edge of the small island we were. Splashing and death threats with my name laced into them were coming from over the edge of the island.

Oh, crap.

I crawled over to the edge and peered down at Kaity as she glared upwards. "Oh my gosh! Kaity, I am _SO_ sorry!" Horror was clearly written all over my face. And murder was written all over hers.

I quickly slinked away from the edge of the island and ran back to hide behind Roxas and Riku (who, of course, we laughing at my misfortune). Then my death came up the ladder that was on the side of the island. Kaity stood there, dripping wet and glaring daggers at me (well, at Riku and Roxas, actually since I was behind them) as she started to advance forward.

I stood on my tip-toes and glanced over Roxas' shoulder. God, I'm going to die. I am so going to die.

"Roxas, don't you have some kind of air magic or something?" I said panicking.

"Uh, Yeah. How did you know that?"

I ignored the latter question."Can you use it to dry her off? Please!"

He laughed. "Like that's going to stop her; But sure."

Roxas took out one of his keyblades and pointed it at Kaity. And then suddenly Kaity was back off her feet again flying through the air. She landed dangerously close to the edge of the island, but not over it. She stood up and examined herself while brushing sand off her clothes.

I sighed in relief. At least I wasn't going to die now.

Kaity looked up at me still with a murderous intent in her eyes. I swallowed hard. Yeah, I take that back.

Kaity and I chased each other around, replaying the recent events that I did to her, but vice versa. I broke the surface water sputtering. I glared up at Kaity as she stood above me triumphant. After climbing up the ladder, Roxas kindly dried me off. Riku looked on us with an slowly growing irritation.

"Are you both done fooling around now?" He huffed.

"Yup." Kaity answered happy now that she had her revenge. I just glared at her.

"Alright then." Riku stuck his hand into one of his pockets and pulled out a colorful key ring. On the key ring was a one of those button things that you use to lock your car. (A/N: Yeah, I don't know what they're called .) He pushed one of the buttons on the thing and then there was...silence. Wow.

_That did a lot_, I scoffed in my thoughts.

Then suddenly there was a huge gust of wind and sand started to fly and swirl everywhere. I shielded my eyes and looked up to see what was causing the wind. Above us was the Gummi ship. I went all deer-in-the-headlights as it landed in front of us. It was huge! We were all backed up to the edges of the island so that it didn't crush us when it landed. Once it was gently rested on the sand, a bridge lowered from the ship to the ground. A dust cloud sprung up from the impact of it touching the ground and sprayed us with more sand. Kaity and I exchanged nervous looks as the guys boarded the ship. Deciding to swallow our fear, we both boarded a moment later.

We followed the guys through the labyrinth of the gears and engines of the lower part of the ship up to the deck. The ship looked exactly as it had in the second game. Three chairs set before a curved control panel with blinking buttons and flashing lights. A large, clear, glass dome stretched above us. Against the back wall, extra passenger chairs were set there. A door stood in the center of the back wall with a sign above it that read: "Other important rooms and sleeping quarters."

...hilarious.

I pulled my attention away from the control deck and focused on the guys as they sat in their seats and prepped the ship for takeoff. Riku sat in the center chair, while Sora sat on his right and Roxas on his left.

"Alright." Riku said as he flipped some switches and pushed some buttons. "Everyone grab a seat and buckled in." Taking "Everyone" to be us, Kaity and I sat down in two of the four extra seats in the back and did what he said. "Once we are up and out of the atmosphere, you can move around all you want."

"How long will take us to get to Disney Castle?" Kaity asked from beside me.

"About six hours." Riku answered.

"Six hours!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"Well," Riku said in annoyance as he messed with a few more controls, "It normally would have only taken about twenty minutes, but someone had to go and break the warp drive."

Sora looked over to Riku with an exasperated look. "I said I was sorry, Riku. Seriously, it's not my fault an asteroid knocked it out."

I laughed to myself at the look on Riku's face as he looked back at Sora. It was just too darn funny when they argued.

"Actually, Sora," Roxas butt in, "If you hadn't of taken the Gummi ship out for a joy ride with Kairi, then the asteroid would have never hit the warp drive."

Kaity and I snickered as Sora groaned and continued to start up the ship.

"Alright, everyone." Riku said finally. "Hold on tight."

The sounds of engines revving up and starting buzzed from beneath our feet. The gears from below spun and the ship started to slowly lift its self from the ground. I watched as we lifted into the sky slowly and felt the paralyzing fear start to creep in. Oh, crap... Um, did I ever mention that I'm terrified of flying? Yeah, well, now you know.

I tried to shrink into my seat and squeezed my eyes shut as tight as could as we gained speed, rising higher into the sky. My stomach was doing flips and my brain was screaming. I was really close to totally spazzing out. Oh why, oh why did I ever get involved in this? What had I been thinking? Trying to find my happy place, I focused on steadying my breathing.

"Hey, Sam, are you alright?" Someone said worried. It sounded like Roxas, but I couldn't tell. All I could hear was my heart pounding through my head. I didn't even bother to try and respond in fear of throwing up my guts. "You're as white as a sheet."

"She'll be fine." Kaity said while trying her best to comfort me. "She just momentarily forgot that she's terrified of flying."

"She looks kind of green." Riku pointed out with concern in his voice.

"Breath deep, Sam. We'll be out of the atmosphere soon." Kaity said reassuring me.

Following her advice, I sucked in a few deep breaths of air. The feeling of lifting and moving through the air eased up as we moved out of the world. I rejoiced to the heavens when all feelings of motion sickness and outside gravity disappeared. Riku announced that we could get up and move around. I felt Kaity unbuckle and move to stand in front of me.

I slowly eased my eyes open and took a deep breath. I looked around, groaned, and unbuckled so that I could stand up and try to walk off the turning in my stomach. I hate flying.

Once Kaity saw that I was okay and wasn't going to have a fit, she picked up the pack of food that Kairi had packed for us and inquired about a kitchen or something. Sora told her that there was a kitchen in the back with the sleeping quarters. She took the food and left the deck. I stayed behind and woozily walked over to see what exactly the guys were doing.

I walked up to Roxas' chair and leaned against it for support. I watched and questioned them about the controls and the ship as the busied themselves with making sure the ship flew smoothly through the colorful, vast, light colored space ahead of us. It was better for me to focus on anything but the fact that we were moving through the realm weightless. I listened to them as they cycled through a list of controls. After some time, I pretty much knew how to start-up, land, and operate the ship. It was quite interesting, actually.

After a while, my eyes started to sting again from tiredness and my muscles started to ache. My eyelids were drooping over my eyes, but I forced them to remain open. I yawned and leaned my head on the side of Roxas' chair.

"Hey, Sam," Roxas said from beside me, "Do you want to go lie down? You look about dead on your feet. There's some beds in the back."

"Sure." I mumbled not even bothering to argue. I needed to rest anyways.

I pushed myself off of the chair and shuffled toward the open doorway. As I was walking my eyes started to drift shut. It was getting hard to keep them open. When they slipped shut, I used every ounce of strength to pry them back open...

...just in time to see the wall.

SMACK!

My forehead connected with the hard, metalic wall and sent me stumbling backwards and onto my butt.

"Ow..." I groaned squeezing my eyes shut tight. I pressed the palms of my hands to my eyes. A prickling pain slid across my forehead and through my head. Laughter echoed around the room from the three seats behind me. I sat up and turned to glare at the three guys.

"Shut up!" I growled at them. I stood up unsteadily from the ground and continued on my way to the wonderfully comfy beds.

After walking down the hall and looking through every door I passed, I came upon a doorway on the right and pushed it open to see four beds with neatly made white sheets and blue blankets. Well, except one bed wasn't so neat. I looked over to Kaity as she slept on the small cot. I yawned again and stumbled over to the closest available bed. Kicking off my shoes and jacket, I climbed into the small cot and slipped under the covers.

I was unconscious before my head hit the pillow.


	12. Going for help

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

Chapter eleven: Going For Help

I don't think I dreamed. If I did, I don't remember it. After I laid down to sleep, it only felt like minutes before I was being softly shaken by my shoulder and being pulled away from the peaceful grasp of sleep. In response to the notion, all I did was grumble and turn onto my other side, slipping back into unconscious instantly. However, to my dismay, the shaking continued. More frantic this time. I just kept grumbling unintelligible words and pushing away what/whoever was causing said shaking.

An irritated sigh sounded close to my ear. "Come on, Sam," Roxas said impatiently. "You have to get up. We're landing at Disney Castle now."

"One more hour," I moaned as I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over my head.

"I give up!" I heard him say as light footsteps started to retreat out the door. "I'll send in Kaity. Maybe she coul-"

THUMP!

Roxas turned on his heels and looked back to me as I laid half on the bed and half on the ground. Twisting around, I tried to untangle myself from the sheets as I hung half off the bed and on the floor. The cold floor touched my bare arms and goose bumps covered them. Muttering curses, I untangled myself from my cotton confines and pulled myself back onto the bed in a sitting position.

"I'm up, I'm up," I grumbled sleepily as I vainly pulled my fingers through the knots in my hair. I slipped on my flip flops and stood up while still running my fingers through my tousled hair. I got a few of the knots out, but I really wish I had a brush. I was still muttering illegibly as I groggily slipped on my jacket. When I looked up, Roxas was leaning against the doorway with a smirk and a amused gleam in his eyes. I narrowed my eyes at him as he grinned at my irritated expression.

"And what, may I ask, is so amusing to you?" I said accusingly as I straightened my clothes so that I didn't really look like I had slept in them. It was a futile attempt.

"Nothing," He replied clearly trying not to laugh. "It's just funny how when I mentioned having Kaity come get you up, that you suddenly decided to listen and get up."

"That, my friend," I said sardonically, "is because if I had allowed you to go to Kaity and request for her to come and awaken me, I would have been sat on and poked to near death."

Roxas burst out laughing and walked out of the room and toward the control room. His laugh faded as he got further away and reigned in his amusement.

I yawned and followed him out of the room, walking with my eyes downcast to the steel ground. My head hurt from exhaustion and my muscles ached from not enough rest. Jeez, what the heck happened to me in that ocean? Does it really hurt this much when you travel across worlds without transportation? I mean, I don't kno-

Thump!

"Oh!" I exclaimed surprised. I backed up holding my nose. I looked up at Roxas as he glanced over his shoulder. He had stopped moving at the end of the hall and I hadn't noticed. Crap.

"Sorry." I muttered while rubbing my nose._ Yeah, just run straight into the guy, why don't 'cha? _I thought sarcastically.

He turned back away from me with a shrug and a "It's alright" before following the rest of the gang to the exit. I sweat dropped and slipped around him to go stand next to Kaity.

She looked me up and down. "It looks like you fell out of bed." She stated.

"How did you know?" I said sarcasm coating my words.

She laughed as Riku opened the Gummi ship hatch and walked through the dimly lit opening. The rest of us followed him out. I stayed behind Kaity, bringing up the rear. Stepping into the dim lighting, I looked around at my surroundings when I was clear of the ship. A dark steel platform was under the Gummi ship and from looking around, it seemed like we were in the Gummi ship hanger under the gardens at Disney Castle. Then I kicked myself mentally. Of course we're in the Gummi ship hanger. We arrived here in the _Gummi ship_.

The five of us all stayed silent as we exited the hanger and started up the ridiculously long winding staircase to the surface. I was still behind Kaity. But let me tell you, it was a _long_ freakin' climb to the exit. And when that bright open exit showed up, I almost fell to my knees to thank God. Almost. One by one, each of us walked through the bright doorway and into the beautiful castle gardens.

I walked through last and blinked rapidly at the sudden light and extremely bright colors. When my eyes adjusted, I saw all the familiar Gardens of Melody. With its high hedges and leafy hedge statues of old time black and white Disney cartoon characters and high castle walls that surrounded the gardens. I was dazed by it. I looked around and around at the beautiful courtyard. But as I looked around...

...I saw that I was completely alone.

Crap. That's just wonderful. It's a good thing I know my way around here.

I found the small door in the castle wall on a path that branched off from the circle and stopped in front of it. I pushed as hard as I could on the ridiculously heavy door and entered the dim corridor. Voices wafted to me as I closed the three ton door behind me. I walked forward up the small staircase and turned the corner. I spotted my oblivious group standing outside a _huge_ light purple door. They didn't even noticed that I had disappeared. So much for world hero's.

I walked up to Kaity's side and crossed my arms.

"Finally decided to show up, did you?" She said just loud enough for me to hear.

"Shut up," I shot back just as quiet. "I got a little distracted."

She laughed quietly. "You always get distracted by the smallest things."

I wacked her over the head and came to attention when Sora turned to look back at Riku and Roxas.

"Um," He said nervously as he peered at the door. "Should we knock?"

"I don't know." Roxas replied bewildered.

Oh, come on. They were so worried about not going to see the king fast enough and now they're not sure if they should knock or not? Please, just please, shoot me now. I groaned annoyed and pressed my hand to my forehead as Kaity looked at them dumbfounded.

"Really?" She said impatiently. Sighing in frustration at them, she started toward the door. "The king invited you, didn't he? Then he should be expecting you."

"Yeah, but-"

Kaity ignored them and bluntly walked into the room. Roxas and Sora exchanged a glance before following her. I ran after her with Riku following behind me.

I slowed to a walk as I entered the throne room, staring all around. The room was huge! Even larger than I expected it to be. The room was probably about as long as a football field. Thick white columns stood along the side white walls, towering over us up to the ceiling. Behind the single golden throne was a huge banner with the Mickey Mouse symbol on it and statues of Donald and Goofy on either side of it. A long red carpet led up to the low platform that the throne was settled on. Sitting in the throne was a small mouse with two round black ears on its head. Another mouse stood next to the golden throne.

King Mickey and Queen Minnie looked a bit startled by Kaity's unannounced entrance, but when the rest of us filed in after her, they seemed to relax and waited patiently for us to walk up to them. And what a walk it was! Jeez! They need to install some kind of golf cart transport or something.

By the time we got up to the platform, my feet were about to fall off. With the never ending, winding stairs and this horribly long trek, I'm not sure I can make it. It's so stupid that there this long to begin with. If I wanted to walk this much, I could have just stayed home and joined one of those outreach fundraisers where everyone walks, like, eight miles or something. Yes, I'm complaining. Bite me.

While we were walking, Kaity had fallen back to stay in step with me. We both hung back at the rear. Sora and Riku easily approached the king and queen and bowed respectfully. Roxas looked a bit uncertain and nervous as he bowed out of respect. Oh, that's right. This is the first time Roxas has ever met the king. Well, not exactly ever. Because I'm sure Roxas was inside of Sora when Sora met the king. Speaking of which, why is Roxas out of Sora? And Namine out of Kairi? Aren't they supposed to have been fused together permanently? And why did it take me this long to realize this and ask myself about it?

Kaity and I just kind of hung in the back behind the group awkwardly. Hey, this is the first time we've actually ever met a real king. And this one's a mouse. It's kind of unnerving and intimidating at the same time.

"Your majesty," Sora said all professionally, standing up straight. "We came as soon as we could."

"We would have come sooner," Riku added on, "But we had a few of setbacks." He glanced at us and Sora.

"That's alright," The kind said dismissively. "You are here now, so we can move on. But first..."

The king peered around the guys over at Kaity and me. Ah, crap. A small knot of fear tightened in my stomach. What if he sees through our lies? I took a deep breath to calm myself. We need his help. We have no choice.

Making sure that my face remain impassive, I started to walk foreword with Kaity just a step ahead of me. Taking two extra strides, she stepped a foot in front of me. I sighed inwardly at the silent gesture. Thank goodness, she's taking control of the situation. She probably thought I couldn't handle it. I didn't think I could handle it ether, so it was okay. She stopped at the foot of the platform, next to Sora and bowed respectfully. I copied her.

The king tilted his head to the side slightly before saying, "And who might you two be?"

I stayed silent, waiting for Kaity to speak. She's better at handling situations like this. Me? I'd say something stupid and get us killed. Well, I doubt I'll get us killed, but you get my drift. And as I had assumed, Kaity stepped forward and took control.

"My name is Kaity," She said gesturing to herself, "and this is Sam." She waved over to me behind herself, glancing back to my perfectly calm facade. She looked back to the king and stood straight. "We need your help." She went on bold as always.

The king sat forward in his chair, curiosity played in his black eyes. "What for?"

This time I gathered my courage and stepped forward beside Kaity. I met his eyes and stared unblinking into them. "We have somehow been forcibly transported from our world and placed into another. Kidnapped or hijacked, would be a better word."

"We don't think it's been destroyed by heartless." Kaity pitched in. "There wasn't that many there." It would make sense that we knew about the heartless, so it was safe to mention them. There are heartless in almost every world.

"And why," the king said after a moment, "do you think that you were kidnapped from your world?"

"We don't know." I admitted truthfully.

"But we want to find out." Kaity added on, determination in her voice.

"That's why we need to return to our world. So that we can figure out why or what made us leave." I said finally. "Or only just to return home." A note of sadness touched my voice, but I think I was the only one who noticed.

The king smiled at us. "I can help you. However, I must also brief the keyblade masters of what has happened." Huh? What has happened? Kaity and I glanced at each other with a concerned look. That doesn't sound too good. I wonder if it's possible for us to listen in on their little meeting...

"Well, uh, you could help us after you're done." Kaity suggested, thinking along the same lines as me.

"No," The king said directly, "the sooner you can find your world and return to it, the better. The safety of other worlds is not a burden of yours." Um, was there a undertone of distrust in his voice? The king turned to look at Queen Minnie, who had been silent this whole time. "Minnie, could you show these two girls to the world archives?"

The queen looked to him. "Of course." She stood and silently walked down the red carpet towards the door. Kaity turned on her heal and followed after her. I gave the king a wary look and followed after Kaity and the queen across the room and out the door.

"Well, now," The queen said as we walked slowly down the hall. "I'm Queen Minnie. Don't mind Mickey's strange behavior. He has become wary of all strangers lately."

Really? Why would he be acting like that? It would probably be best to get as much information we can. "Would you know why he's acting like this?" I asked curious.

"...Some of the reasons, but not all." She said sadly. "However, it's best if you two don't get caught up in all of this. Especially if you are to be returning to your own world soon. It would complicate the world order."

"Yeah..." I mumbled glancing back at the door. Somehow, I get the feeling that we are already "caught up" in whatever "this" is. The three of us walked into the library. It was a small room with a medium sized fire place and a writing desk with a high backed red chair. Pictures of the king in various time era's were hung on the walls. The three of us crossed the room to the bookshelves that covered the back wall.

"So, where exactly are these "world archives"? Kaity asked when we stopped a few feet away from the bookcase's.

Minnie walked up to the rounded bookcase in the middle of the wall and touched just the tip of her finger to a old leather-bound book. A strange white light came from her finger and was absorbed into the book. The white light stretched out and echoed through all the books on all the shelves in that bookcase. The center bookcase suddenly jerked forward and slowly swung forward. Opening up like a door.

Dazed, I walked toward the opening and peered inside. As my eyes registered the inside of the strange opening, my jaw dropped to my feet (figuratively, of course). Kaity walked up behind me and stood next to me to get a look inside the gap also.

"Whoa..."

In front of us was a huge room that stretched far up above our heads into darkness and stretched as far forward as it did up. It was never ending! But the most astounding thing of all was all the rows, upon rows, upon rows of bookcase's that seemed to stretch as far as the room. Books seemed to levitate as they moved and zoomed between and around the cases and shelves. There were ladders that went up as far as the eyes could see and some that stayed down low. There were also glass display cases on the shelves that had objects inside them.

After the shock subsided enough for me to close my mouth, I slowly walked in and stood in the center of the semi-circle that the shelves made in the room. It gave you a nice view of the cases that stood before you. The shelves seemed to twist and curve, making it impossible to tell exactly how far they went on. There were _so_ many books, though. So many _worlds_.

"And Sora has to lock _all_ of these worlds' keyholes?" I muttered in disbelief.

Kaity shuffled up to me, slumped over and groaning.

"What?" I said looking at her drained expression.

"This is going to take forever!" She exclaimed. "Just look at all these worlds!" She said waving at them defeated.

Suddenly a small circle of the floor opened up and an electronical computer type thing came up out of the ground. It rose up and stopped, standing on a small platform with enough space for one person to stand on.

"This is a virtual index of all the worlds in this room." The queen explained coming up to us. "All you have to do is type in the name of the world you are looking for and it will show you what you want on the monitor. Or you can request the book to come to you."

Huh. "Well, that's covenant." I mumbled as I walked up to the computer and stepped up onto the circular platform it was on. When I did, the machine blinked to life and popped out a keyboard and mouse. A white rectangular box appeared on the neon green screen asking for my search.

"I shall leave you to your investigate, then." Said the queen dismissively.

"Okay," Kaity said after her, "thanks!" Then she walked up to me to see what I was doing.

I had already tried looking up any world with the name Castaway Cay and, surprisingly, actually got something. Hm, interesting. I clicked on the link out of curiosity. Turns out that there was a world based on the Disney Cruise island.

"That's kind of creepy." Kaity mumbled peering around my arm to look at the screen.

"Just a bit." I said while scrolling down the page of info about the world. I stopped to look at its current statues. '_Terminated_' was stamped in big red letters. "Well, it's been destroyed, probably by the heartless, so there's nothing we can do." I went back to the search page and typed in '_Earth_'. I tensely hit the search button and waited for the results.

A few seconds later, one search result came up. It said '_Earth'_ and even had a small picture icon of it beside the link. I clicked on it. At once a green page popped up and words started to type out with info about the world. But...something was wrong. The words didn't stop so that I could read them. They just started to type out faster and faster until it all become a blur of green and black lines.

"What the heck?" I muttered, pulling my hands away from the keyboard and mouse.

"What did you do?" Kaity exclaimed.

"Nothing!" I went to go close the search, but it suddenly just stopped. Frozen.

_What?_ I thought completely shocked as I read the last few sentences on the monitor were it froze. _What does that even mean? _Then the whole screen went black with a pop and sizzle. I stared at my shocked reflection on the black screen. What just happened?

There was another 'pop!' and a small rectangular white box appeared in the center of the screen. Above it in red lettering it said: _'This world file is restricted. Password?_'

"Restricted?" muttered Kaity incredulously.

"A password?" I nearly yelled, totally stumped. "Why the hell would you need a password to access the world file on-" I stopped mid-sentence as a sudden thought came across my mind. You see, I have this really bad habit of talking aloud to someone about something while my mind is on some completely different matter. I had been thinking about the last few sentences I had read on the Earth file, and a thought struck me as I was running my mouth.

"Uh, Sam?" Kaity said looking at my frozen expression of shock with my mouth still open. "Hello? We have a crisis here and you're spacing out now?" she said in amazement.

I wasn't really spacing out though. I was physically frozen, but my mind was reeling at a thousand miles a minute. _Why would the Earth file be restricted?_ It was just any other world, right? But, then if it was, we would have access to it. At least, I would think so. But... that last line... what did it mean? Could it be that...No... No, it couldn't. But maybe it was... It would explain a lot about why this universe has only Disney worlds in it. In this universe...there is no _Earth._ How could there be?Earth isn't a Disney world...

It's the world were all the Disney world's come from.

So, if Earth is the world where all of the Disney world's come from, you can't have all the characters of those worlds coming and going to Earth all the time. Or appearing there to refuge if there world us destroyed. So to prevent that from happening...

But why would they do that? Maybe I've got this all wrong. There could be a thousand different meanings behind that word. But even so... where would they banish it to? How could Kaity and I have been transported here and still be alive if it is in another universe? For us to survive, we would have had to pass through a wormhole or something. But this universe... it doesn't have wormholes. Could it be that... instead we passed through a veil of light? No... not a veil of light... only things made of pure light can be transported by pure light. And every being has darkness in it...

A veil of light... and darkness...

No freakin' way.

"The other side. If that's... it would have to be on the other side." I whispered.

"What?" Kaity asked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Earth!" I exclaimed turning to her. She stepped back startled at my sudden outburst. "It's not here. It's on the other side!"

"The other side?" Kaity almost yelled back. "What other side? The dark side?" She half joked.

"Yes," I said closing my eyes and crossing my arms. _That has to explain the need to intertwine the darkness with the light..._ "No wonder the space outside our world is so dark and the space here is so light."

"Sam, you're not making any sense and you're starting to scare me." Kaity said, trying to get me to look at her.

"Maybe that's somehow related to the reason why we're here." I mumbled opening my eyes and staring at the ground. But what does that have to do with us?

"Sam!" Kaity said grabbing and shaking my shoulders. "Tell me what the hell is going through that skull of yours before I go insane!"

I looked up to meet her eyes. "I know where Earth is..."

"What? Where?"

"It's on the other side of the Kingdom Hearts universe." I stated. "It's on the dark side of Kingdom Hearts."

Exactly how its related to this universe and how it ended up there, I have no clue.

But I think I know how to find out...


	13. You're not alone

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

Chapter twelve: You're Not Alone

Kaity stared at me blankly for a moment, blinked slowly, and continued to stare. "Say what now?"

With my new revelation as a fuel source (and frustration at the fact that I hadn't thought of this before), I stomped off the platform and walked rapidly down a random passageway of books. I hope I'm going the right way, because I'm really not sure exactly where I'm going. I heard Kaity's rigid and bemused steps trail after me a few feet behind.

"Come on, Sam," She said impatiently, "I'm not a mind-reader; you have to explain to me what's going on inside your head!"

I continued to walk on in a daze. My eyes shifted restlessly over the many books searching for...searching for what? I don't have clue what I'm really looking for. I just know that there is something here for me to see... something I need to find. It was just...that feeling again. The tingle echoing through my nerves. The ache on the edge of my mind...

I just knew that I had to keep walking.

"Sam! What the hell is up? What has you so wound up like this?"

We turned around a few corners of the spacious aisles. I was still not responding and Kaity was almost stomping around in aggravation like a five year old because of it.

_Ah, I knew it_. I thought looking ahead of us as we came upon what my instincts have been bugging me about.

"_SAM!_ I _swear_, if you don't tell me this instant what the hell is in your head, I'm going to-"

_"Shush!" _I snapped turning around with a finger against my lips. "This is what was on my mind." I said waving my hand in the space ahead of us.

It was another circular space like up front, but it was different then the part of the library we just came through. The tall book case's formed a circle around us, but the shelves behind us were blue and the shelves in front of us were...red. A bright crimson red. Almost like blood. No books moved between these shelves. There was no sense of movement at all. As I looked on, the case's seemed to become swallowed in shadows, making it impossible to tell how long it went on. A chilly breeze came from the shadows, wrapping around our bodies and leaving goose bumps on our legs and arms. Kaity and I stood in the circular area, gazing at the strange district before us.

"Um, yeah, I volunteer you to scout out the creepy library." Kaity piped up from behind me.

But I ignored her and slowly walked up to a case. I rested a hand against it and peered into the shadows. "These shelves seem to go on longer then the blue ones." I muttered to myself.

"What are these bookcases?" Kaity said as she walked up to me.

"I think...these bookcases contain the books of worlds that are not Disney oriented..." I told her as we cautiously stepped into the aisle in front of us. "Worlds of other realms and universe's that either don't belong or had been banished or rejected." I explained as my eyes slid over the large books. I recognized every other title.

"How do you know all of this Sam?" Kaity asked as she matched her steps to mine.

"That last line on the screen before it went black was about our worlds' location." I told her. "It said: _'This is a restricted world. All inhabitants, forces, and anything relating to its existence in any way is banished and sentenced'_."

"Banished?" Kaity questioned. "For what? Where did it-"

"Get banished from?" I finished for her, glancing at her.

"Yeah..." She said slowly as she watched the thoughtful expression on my face. She gasped, "You're not thinking that it was banished from this universe, are you?"

"I don't know." I admitted looking away. "At this point, I'm not sure about anything except for the fact that we need to find that book. Then we'll know the truth." Maybe we are here for a purpose...

"Right..."

Kaity and I walked side by side as we hunted for the book on Earth. Locating the aisle with all the '_E_'s, we looked up and down the shelves that towered over us. We probably walked down the '_E'_ aisle for about twenty minutes before I heard Kaity make an exclamation to my left.

I turned and saw where her eyes were trained and saw a large brown leather book sitting at least eight shelves high with '_Earth' _printed in gold writing on the side. Kaity had already pulled over one of those ladders and was climbing up to get it. A cloud of dust cascaded down from the shelf as she pulled it out of the space and steadily climbed back to the ground.

Once her feet touch the floor again, she held out the object for us both to see. The book was worn and tattered with cursive script lettering on the front. A shimmery force field swirled over and around the object, casting a small glow over us both. The strange part was that thick chains bound the cover in an _X _with an, I don't know, iron lock or something. It was weirdly shaped. It didn't have a key hole or anything though.

"This is it?" Kaity asked as she lightly dusted the strange shield.

"This is it." I murmured. I slid a finger down the chain. How are we supposed to read it with it all chained up?

"How do we read it?" Kaity said. Reading my thoughts again, I see?

I dropped my hand to my side. "Guess we have to get the password." I sighed in defeat. Can't anything be easy?

"But that could take ages!" Kaity cried out in frustration.

"I know." I groaned. "We can't crack into the book without it though. We need a password." But what the heck could it be? Would the king be the one that knows it? It is his library after all. "It has to be something the king would put, I think."

"Great," Kaity said yawning. You know how yawns are, their chains. I yawned as well and felt a weariness wash over me. "God knows that helps us." She muttered, holding the book out in front of her. "So, how are we going to sneak out with this bulky thing? It's not going to fit under our shirts or in our pockets, that's for sure."

"We can't." I sighed grudgingly. "It's too big. Hopefully Sora won't want to leave tonight. Then maybe we can have a chance to think this over."

Kaity let out an irritated sigh and started climbing the latter to return the book to its place. We then slowly shuffled through the labyrinth of books to the front. On the way, we discussed possible passwords, but none of them seemed to go. We were completely stumped.

When we were back to the entrance, we exited the world archives. There's nothing more we can do in there until we come up with the password. Walking into the smaller library, Kaity and I looked to see Sora, Riku, Roxas, and the king waiting for us. They all were just hanging out, talking. How long had we been in there? It didn't feel like more than an hour at the least. But now came the hard part. Kaity and I exchanged a sad knowing look. Will the lying ever end?

"Hey..." I said stopping a few feet away from them. Kaity stopped behind me.

Realizing that we had entered the room, all the guys immediately shut up. Hm, I wonder what they were talking about...

Sora tilted his head a bit to one side in curiosity. "So, what did you find out?"

I looked back to Kaity then slowly back to the guys. "We found our world..." Kaity muttered loud enough for them to hear.

"But it's been destroyed." I muttered with my eyes down cast so they had no chance of seeing the lie in them. I hate this. I really do. "I don't understand how," I went on with a touch of sadness over my tone, "There wasn't enough heartless there to pose much of a threat. How could they have destroyed our world?" I finished with looking up to them with my best distressing eyes.

"Maybe you just didn't notice them as they multiplied." Roxas said trying to comfort me. "I'm sorry about your world... it's got to be tough."

"Could..." I really didn't want to start the waterworks, so I let hope come over the sadness and looked to each of them before resting on the king. "Could more people have escaped before it happened like we did?"

"Yes..." The king answered this time. "But only a small chance, I'm afraid."

I looked over to Kaity as she glanced to me. I sighed and leaned back against a chair that was close to me before sliding down to the ground and pulling my legs to my chest with my arms around them. Was I convincing enough for them? I sure hope so, because I'm not going to cry too just when them over. I'd rather tell the truth.

"Well, because of this unexpected and unfortunate event," Riku voiced, crossing his arms thoughtfully, "You two are now stranded without a world to return to. The only question is: What happens to you now?"

He's right. What _does_ happen to us now? We were homeless with no place to go. We don't know what to do next. It's like we're in the middle of a unknown country without a clue about what to do next.

"Sam," piped up the king. I looked up to him. He was watching my hands as they subconsciously fiddle with my necklace. Another tell tale sign of me being nervous. "Where did you get that charm?"

I looked down at the gleaming silver and gold trinket in my fingers. "I don't know." I answered truthfully. Well, half truthfully at least. "Why do you ask?"

Confusion crossed the kings' face. "You don't know?"

"Yeah," I said shrugging my shoulders. "It was just there."

"When did you find it there?"

"After I woke up on the Island. I looked down and saw it hanging there." I explained. Why was he asking me this?

"I have one too." Kaity piped in. Reaching up, she pulled the chain and a charm similar to mine came out from hiding behind her tank top. Instead of a moon, hers was a sun with a darker blue gem placed in the center of it.

The king looked them both over thoughtfully. "I've seen that design somewhere before." He said resting his chin on his hand and closing his eyes. "I just can't remember where."

"Hm..." I gently ran my thumb over the reflective, glittering surface of the cold charm. So, this thing has more meaning to it than just a pretty accessory? I would think so since that strange look-alike girl was wearing it and now I am, but still... The king recognizes it. That's interesting.

"Yeah, okay, off topic." Riku interrupted. "What happens to them now?"

The king went back to his regular posture. "I thought it had been obvious," He said looking to the boys. "They will be going with you on your journey."

...Huh?

"What?" The three of them cried out.

The king nodded sternly. "They would prove useful for you on your mission." Mission? What mission?

"They would just be a burden." Riku stated stubbornly.

"Can they even fight?" Roxas pointed out glancing over to us.

"They'd just get in the way." Sora said crossing his arms.

Oh, no they did not just say all that with us sitting right here.

"Uh, _hello!_" I said waving an arm in the air to catch their attention. "We do just so happen to be sitting right _here_, you know."

Kaity just put her hands on her hips and scoffed at the rudeness. I crossed my arms and glared at them. They don't even know us. I mean, yeah I don't know if we can fight or anything, but saying all that while we're in the same room? That's a big no-no right there mister. Didn't their mamas ever teach them manners?

"They will be going." The king said to them definite.

Sora and Roxas ducked their heads, pouting like they were five, and Riku just narrowed his eyes. I didn't think they despised us that much...It's kind of hurtful, actually...

At his words, the king left the room and instructed one of the many enchanted brooms to show us to some guest rooms and then to dinner. We all followed the broom silently to some nice bedrooms on the second floor. They were simple with two full beds that were covered in white sheets with purple and gold blankets. Each room had its own king sized bathroom themed in gold and white.

Kaity and I took one while Roxas and Sora shared one and Riku got his own. Lucky. He doesn't have to listen to someone snoring all night (coughKaitycough). After that, we headed to the dining hall and had some dinner with the king, queen, and the other inhabitants of the castle. It was kind of awkward, but we made it through.

Once we were finished, we retreated to our own rooms to get to bed. Kaity and I discovered spare silk pajamas in a wardrobe and had a game of rock, paper, scissors for who got to take a shower first. I won, of course.

The moment the steaming water fell onto my sore muscles, I was caught in its searing hot embrace. Most of the knots in my shoulders and back unbound and the salt from the ocean water was rinsed away from my hair and skin. After a few moments of just standing under the water, I actually got to taking the shower I was supposed to be taking. Twenty minutes later, I turned off the torrent of water and stepped out in a big white towel, smelling of some strange mixture of mango and apricot shampoo.

I wiped a large circle in the fogged mirror and picked up a brush that was lying on the ceramic counter. I pulled it through all the tangles until it lay plastered to my head before messing it up vigorously so that it would dry faster. Also, when I messed it up after brushing it, it let my natural waves and curls come out and dry.

Pulling on the black tank top and white satin sleep pants I had found, I turned back to the mirror and pulled my hair out of the back of the shirt. I slipped back on my necklace. I don't know where the king had seen it before or what it means, but I just felt like I _had_ to wear it. It was a weird feeling, but it was there. I brushed my teeth with the provided tooth brushes and paste and the exited, feeling completely refreshed.

Kaity was sitting on one of the beds and looked up to me as I came out of the bathroom followed by a billowing cloud of steam.

"You used up all the hot water, didn't you?" She accused me as she grabbed her clothes.

"Yup." I said sighing happily as I stretched my arms above my head in the air. "It felt wonderful, too."

"_Baka_." She said irritated while walking into the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

"Love you, too!" I shouted at her before the water started up again.

I shuffled over to the bed Kaity hadn't been sitting on and plopped down onto it, rolling over so that I could stare at the white ceiling. My mind wandered to the possible answers of the password again. We needed to figure it out before tomorrow. Who knows when we'll be able to come back here. But what could it be? My eyebrows were mashed together as I stared thoughtfully at the ceiling.

Ten minutes later, Kaity came out of the bathroom. By then, I was glaring at the ceiling. Blaming it for all my problems. Kaity saw this and looked from me to the ceiling and back again.

"What did the ceiling ever do to you to deserve such a look?"

I turned my death glare to her.

"Alright, alright." She said with her hands in front of her in surrender. "It's between you two. I can take a hint."I picked up one of my flip-flops and threw it at her, aiming for her face, and smacking her in the knee because I have awesome aim like that.

She laughed and slipped into her bed. Nothing else was said as she settled down and switched off her lamp light. Surprisingly, I wasn't tired, but I turned the lamp by my bed off out of courteously so that Kaity could sleep.

I tried to sleep. I really did. But the sandman really didn't like me tonight. I tossed and turned, counted sheep, and even tried to sing myself to sleep in my head, but sleep would not come. I laid on the bed with my face pressed into the cool sheets and narrowed my eyes at them. Too much crap was going through my head and wouldn't let my mind rest. Besides, it was starting to get uncomfortably warm in here.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I roughly pushed away the sheets and pulled myself off the bed to stand on the cold floor at the edge of my bed. I didn't bother putting my shoes on, the ground felt nice. I headed for the door and went to open it, but stopped when a grumble came from the other bed.

"Where you going?" Kaity mumbled.

"Can't sleep." I explained. "Going out for some air. I'll be back later."

"'Kay." Then she drifted out.

I opened the door and slipped out into the cool night air and gently shut the door. I turned on my heel, took a long deep breath and started down the dimly lit corridor. After some time, I just was kind of wandering around the hall aimlessly until a staircase came up on my right. Curiosity getting the best of me, I went up and followed wherever it might take me.

Turns out the stairs came out on another landing. Except this landing was open to the night. Over the edge was the garden/courtyard about three stories below. I leaned on the stone guardrail and peered up to the open starry sky that shined down upon the castle. The moon was almost in the dead center of the sky. I also noticed that it was almost at its zenith.

I tilted my head at the pale lunar object. The moon of this world is so different than the one of Earth. It seemed to be bigger and have more craters. Whatever it was that made it the way it is, it gave off enough light to bath everything it touched pale silver.

Staying close to the rail, I walked around the rectangular walkway. My feet made little sound as I suddenly seemed to float weightlessly along the way. My hand trailed along the flat stone of the rail, only leaving it to trance around a short column that stood in its path. I watched my fingers run across the stone in thought, but...not really. I mean, I wasn't really thinking. Or something like that... My mind was blank. I guess I was zoned out. Thoughtlessly walking in a circle.

Sometime during my daze, my eyes become unfocused. But instead of seeing blurry shapes and what not, I was seeing... something. Or more like seeing past reality to something beyond it, I guess. That's what it felt like, at least. A memory, perhaps? Or a vision? I'm not too sure. But it felt very real.

The garden below me disappeared and in its place was an almost completely covered stone courtyard three times the size of the garden. Pale sliver light swept the shimmery new stone flooring. At the edges of the stone yard, grassy areas lined the walls with various colorful trees, bushes and flowers scattered over it. To add to it, a crystal clear stream wound its way through the yard at one corner with fountains on the walls pouring water into it. It was beautiful.

As I continued to stroll, a small figure with long dark hair and pale skin walked gracefully across the stone courtyard. Her movements were so smooth and light, she seemed to dance as she walked. It almost wasn't human. The young girl couldn't have been over the age of nine. A sleeveless silk white dress fell just above her knees with a thick black bow wrapped around her waist with black lace trimming the bottom of her dress. This mysterious little girl carried a small bouquet of pink and purple flowers in her hands.

The little girl looked up to the moon and stars, I was too far up to clearly see her features, but I could just make out a glint of gold where her eyes were supposed to be. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach. Like I knew her or something. I was completely confused though. What is going on? Who is this girl?

Looking up to the sky, I saw that there seemed to be more stars here then at Disney Castle. Like there are more worlds o something. I watched as the little girl walked to the stream and knelt next to it. She lifted the flowers to her nose before bringing them down to her lap and staring into them. I couldn't see her expression, but from her body language, she seemed to be...sad.

"I don't know where you went..." A soft voice said. I almost didn't hear it, it sounds perilously close to the wind. It's weird though. How can I hear her from all the way up here? "And I don't know why. But I miss you. You were my only friend. So please...come back soon..." she reached over and dropped the flowers in to the stream. "Okay, Kairi?"

I stopped abruptly in my tracks and stared at the little girl as she stood and slowly walked back across the courtyard. Now I'm just baffled. What the heck was that and how does that little girl know Kairi?

Then I noticed the almost silent sound coming from somewhere around me. I hadn't noticed it before while I was watching the little girl. It was like a song, but then again, it wasn't. I was used to the stupid music following me everywhere I went in this universe, but this background song sounded different. It was drums, like Native American or African drums. A few piano keys chimed in with... a Pan flute? Yeah, it was. The instruments hummed in the air, softly rising. It was beautiful. It reminded me of the culture festivals I used to go to. The Native American and Celtic ones. My parents thought it would be cool for me to know my ancestors cultures.

As I listened, a voice seemed to join in, but... I didn't hear it. It seemed to be flitting through my thoughts.

_'Dance in the courtyard while the moon hangs low,  
Dance to a rhythm no one knows,  
The beat goes on like the spirit drum,  
A long past story already sung..._'

It was talking about the girl. I was sure of it. But what does all of this have to do with me? And how does she know Kairi? I closed my eyes, shook my head to clear my thoughts, and opened them to Disney Castles walkway and gardens. The stone courtyard was gone along with the girl.

That was strange, to say the least. My head hurts now. I pressed a cool hand to my forehead and took a deep breath. Ever since we arrived here, all I've had are headaches. They were ether from stress or some weird crap happening to me. Looking up, I saw someone leaning on the guardrail about twenty feet away staring up to the starry night sky. The moons shimmery light being reflected into aqua blue eyes the color of the Caribbean.

Riku.

I hesitated before deciding to walk up to him. I made an effort to make some noise while I was walking so that he knew that he wasn't alone. If I wasn't so light headed, I wouldn't have to make the effort. But whenever I feel light headed, my steps are light as well. I know, it's weird.

I halted a yard or two away from where he was standing, suddenly nervous. Hey, he may be Riku, but that means nothing. I don't know anything about him at all and being alone, at night, with a guy I don't really know is something I would usually avoid. Although...I don't think that he would hurt me. From what I do know about him, he wouldn't do that. He's a ask-questions, attack-later kind of guy.

A sigh brought me out of my thoughts and I watched as Riku turned his eyes to me. His silver colored bangs, more white than silver in the moon light, fell over his eyes a bit. Covering just a small part of his eyes. My bangs were like that, but not quite as long. I shuffled my weight nervously from one foot to the other, but I met his gaze steadily and tilted my head a bit to the side casually.

"May I join you?" I asked politely.

His eyes left mine to trail back to the sky while he shrugged. "Only if you want too."

Well, I'd say that by my question, it would seem that I wanted too, but whatever. If he wants to be like that, fine. I levered myself onto the wide flat surface of the guard rail and straddled it, letting one leg fall to one side and pulling the other up to my chest to wrap my arms around it. A column rose up behind me and I rested my head against the stone. My own gray green eyes turned to the stars. _No, not stars, _I thought gazing at them. They were _worlds_.

The two of us stayed like that, silence dancing in the moonlight. Until Riku broke it.

"I went to the world achieves and looked up your world," Riku said flatly still starring up. "Just to be sure you weren't lying."

At that moment, I was completely thankful that Castaway Cay was an actual world.

"I looked at its status and saw that it had been destroyed, like you said." He continued, turning to face me with his arms crossed and a expressionless face. "But it was destroyed three years ago."

And now my world plummeted into chaos. I could just crawl under a rock and rot there. How was I going to explain this one? I stayed silent under his gaze, to scared to meet his eyes.

"Are you going to tell me why you lied to us?" He was angry. But you know what? I'm tired. Tired of all these lies. Tired of this mask I'm starting to build. I'm tired of fighting against it.

I closed my eyes against the breeze, still refusing to meet the accusing glare. Taking a deep breath, I leaned my cheek on my knee and reopened my eyes to watch the wind rustle the leaves on the hedges far below us.

"I have my reasons." I finally whispered.

"None of which you are going to tell me." He stated annoyed.

"Bingo."

"Why not?"

I half smiled, "Because I don't know them." I said simply, turning to rest my chin on my knee so that I could see him. So that I can see what he's not saying. "We don't know what's happening, Riku. You have to understand that," I said glumly, making him look me in the eye. "Just a few days ago, our world was ripped right out from under our feet. A few days ago, we didn't even know that any of this existed..." I said while gesturing to my surroundings. "We do know, however, that we were sent here for a purpose, we don't know what it is, but until we do, you're just going to have to trust us."

Riku stiffened and narrowed his eyes before sharply turning his head away. He was silent for a moment, and then he exhaled through his nose as if trying to calm himself down. I couldn't see his face very well, but it looked like a battle of emotions was taking place.

"Last time I trusted a stranger, my heart gave into the Darkness and was taken over and almost lost."

My eyes widened in shock. Then, slowly, they softened. Sympathy clouded my thoughts as I looked at him, although I knew he didn't want it. I had forgotten. Is this why he's so closed up? Why he's been secretly suspicious of Kaity and I ever since we arrived? Why he won't believe us until he knows everything?

He's just protecting his friends' safety. I'm sure that's what it is. He doesn't want to lose them again. Ansem was supposed to be gone from his heart now though. The blast from Ansem the Wise' data contraption was supposed to have taken care of that. At the time, he said he didn't feel him in his heart anymore, but... Riku doesn't say things that will make his friends worry about him. He seems to always think that he has to take care of his problems on his own.

Yup, Riku's an idiot like that.

I let my other leg fall to the side of the rail, using my hands to grasp the edges to balance myself. I peered at him carefully.

"Is he still in your heart, Riku?" I said in a quiet voice. "You know, Ansem? Did you mean it when you said he was gone?"

Riku looked at me in surprise. Oh...yeah. He doesn't know that I know about that yet. My bad. I casted down my eyes. "I know a lot more then you could possibly believe." I said, answering the silent question.

"No." He answered after a moment. He rested a hip on the surface of the rail with his arms still crossed. "I don't feel him there anymore. That doesn't mean that he can't find his way to me again though."

Silence fell between us as we sat there. I had been gazing at the gardens below us, but my eyes had at some point strayed to Riku. I just stared thoughtfully at him. You know, I had a feeling that if I actually knew Riku and grew up with him, we would have been friends. I might have even seen him as an older brother. Someone to look up too. Like Sora does. But for now... he's just a familiar stranger.

"Why are you up?"

I snapped out of my daze and met his eyes once again. "Huh?" I said brilliantly.

"Why are you up?" He repeated.

I shrugged at his question. "Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Too much going on in my head." He said before yawning. "But I think I'll head in now anyways. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning." He turned and walked past me to the staircase.

After a brief thought, I squeezed my eyes shut tightly before opening them, got down from the rail, and turned toward Riku's retreating figure.

"You know, Riku," I called after him. "You're not alone. Or, at least, you weren't."

Riku stopped and turned half way back to look at me. "Alone?"

"You're not the only one living constantly in a battle against the Darkness..." I said quietly. _I should know_, I thought sadly, _I've been battling it for years_. "You're not the only one walking the middle road. Even now. After all that you've been through."

"That's... comforting to know." He said with a smile before turning to continue down the path. I sighed and leaned my head against the cold stone column and let my thoughts wander.

Wait a second...

My eyes snapped open suddenly. That's it! Sudden excitement and realization pulsed through my veins and washed away and feeling of exhaustion. I raced down the stone path to the staircase and down the steps until I reached the bottom floor. After a few minutes of navigating my way to the library, I came upon the closed doors. When inside, I saw the bookcase hadn't been shut. I thanked whatever God watched over here and proceeded into the dim chamber.

Books still floated gently around the shelves and a glow echoed off the cases. I stepped onto the circular platform and waited while the machine came to life before brushing my hand across the keypad to search earth again. When it came up, I clicked on it. It freaked out again and went to the black screen with the little white box. My hands hovered over the keys as I thought of the word. Then, with a deep breath, I tapped in the letters and pressed enter.

It didn't do anything for a few heart stopping seconds. Then green words of approval flashed across the screen. I let out a disbelieving breath and did a silent victory dance. Not wanting to scroll and read the words on the monitor, I pressed the summoning button. A few minutes later, the book floated out of an aisle and into my hands. The red force field was gone and when I grasped the object in my hands, the chains fell from and dissolved into gold dust.

I stepped off the platform and walked over to a bare wall. I slid to ground and held the book in my lap. My hands trembled as I opened the cover and started to read the secrets of my own world.

Silence followed for the next few minutes as I read. Emotions crossed my face and disappeared and flew back across again. Disbelief was one that returned again and again. As I read, though, my eyes widened and my mouth dropped open more so that I looked almost like a gapping fish.

"H-how..." I stuttered out. "How can this be?"


	14. No more secretsno more lies

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter thirteen: No More Secrets…No More Lies…

"That's...that's insane..." I muttered in disbelief to the book. "How can this be..."

I was at a loss for words. How could _earth_ be so...so... I don't even know what to say. So, I don't know, foreign to this universe, but still so similar. Be tied to it in ways I couldn't have even considered possible. Nothing made sense. Two plus two equaled four hundred and thirty-five. This is impossible because that is an odd number and two plus two equals four anyways.

Letting out a deep breath, my eyes ran over the first few paragraphs again. The words printed on to the page didn't make sense, could never be true, but I felt it, deep in my gut, that every word I read was the real deal.

"_Earth is one of the Worlds. A place where many other worlds can exist within a single World. It is thought that this World created other Worlds like itself, but no evidence has been found to support this theory. However, it's thought to be this way for everything connects back to it. From certain historical findings, to the hearts and souls of thoughs living in the World._

_For millions of years, no soul knew of any other world besides their own. Blindly creating masterpieces without any knowledge of it. Over time, as man evolved, other worlds appeared in the galaxy around the earth. It wasn't until man began studying the stars that they were even noted. Even then, few knew about what was slowly developing around them. But for thoughs who knew, they could not explain the phenomena. _

_In the 20th century, a man who was learned in the art of science, philosophy, and the human life, discovered these worlds on accident. The man was astonished by his findings and began to study them in secret. He had realized that what he had discover was truly unique and hoped to understand it better before presenting it to the public. _

_As the man studied the worlds, he noticed something peculiar about them. The ones floating along the outer rim seemed to have a striking resemblance to movies that he had seen. Behind these worlds, thousands more of them lingered behind them. Upon proving that he was indeed correct in the assumption that they were worlds based on movies, he consumed his time into study and research on how this new discovery could possibly happen. _

_Through his study, he found his answer and all his previous thoughts and beliefs were gone._

_It was the power of imagination, the ability to create something new with your mind and heart, combined with the energy and power of the worlds' heart. The heart that resides inside each world. The power of the worlds' heart flooded into the many hearts and minds of its inhabitants, inspiring the move of ideas and creation that has brought the earth to the reality it is today. However, when a person with a strong heart and soul create and bring forth such passionate ideas (such as movies, books, and video games) they come forth as a world of their own._

_The man discovered this power and abused it to the point of war. _

_Destruction, suffering, and darkness consumed the hearts of men. This darkness infected all the thousands of other worlds surrounding it, falling into the darkness with the earth. One by one, many worlds were destroyed in the name of power and domination._

_Ten long years of darkness passed by as people fought against the darkness or for it, riddling the world into a wasteland. Kingdom Hearts stepped up and decreed it enough and ordered the earth to stop its heinous war. However, they did not. Kingdom Hearts was angered by their disobedience and all the pain and sorrow they created. Deciding it was time for the fighting to finally cease, Kingdom Hearts erased all memories of the battle. _

_Kingdom Hearts called upon the remaining powers of light in all the hearts of the worlds and constructed a barrier around all the dark worlds. A dark blanket stretched over the barrier, containing the darkness within the darkness. The only evidence is the brightness of the stars in the sky at night. Kingdom hearts made it so that the heart of every world could shine into each night sky and as a sign that there is always light within the darkness. Still... only light truly lived in the hearts of children._

_That was until a new heart had been born. It was a rare heart. One that held onto the light. All the inspiration and passion that entered his heart was purely made of light. There was no sense of darkness within his thoughts or ideas. This man created the first world of light called _Toon Town_. This world had no darkness in it. Seeing this, Kingdom Hearts divided the Darkness barrier with Nothing to create a realm of Light. Over time, other worlds came into existence with light as it's only force. Other hearts containing only pure light were born on earth. A balance was being made to counter the darkness as they created other new worlds. These pure worlds stayed in what came to be known as the Disney Universe (named after the creator of the first world). All of the worlds connected with each other, creating one whole world where everything was peaceful and right._

_Life was peaceful in these worlds. However, as many know, once a life is created, it soon breaks free of its creator and acts upon its own free will._

_Darkness, sly and deceitful, found its way into many hearts of this new universe. Chaos erupted among the world's from the need to have the light for one's own self. Kingdom Hearts had given specific hearts the gift to wield the Keyblade. These keyblade wielders fought for the light or for power. Every world was eventually tied up in the war, ether willingly or forced. The darkness consumed all the worlds until that was all that was left. Only a few remained that still held the tiniest spark of light. These few hearts created the World again from light. But this time, all the worlds were divided by barriers of light so that the war could never be repeated._

_The darkness was balanced once again and Keyblade wielders governed the realm. The hearts of light created their own worlds and resided in them. However, one heart, one different from the rest, found the barrier of nothingness and the darkness beyond it while dividing the worlds. This heart traveled through the barriers and wound up on earth. This wielder continued on, knowing the results of the imaginative ideas and creations. He created his own stories of real life events with real people interlinking with real people of the other universe. Soon, it became that when a heart and soul were born on earth, a identical heart and soul or other would be born in the realm of Light among one of the worlds created by the Keyblade masters. Their hearts and personality's would always match, but they would be completely different in appearance._

_When a Nobody was born, another copy/other could not be born in the Dark realm. The Nobody would already be grown and would not age. Instead, the spirit of the Nobody attached itself to the spirit of someone already born that resembled it most in personality. Usually it would just attach to its' others' spirit. _

_Life continued on this way for a long time, but something has changed between the worlds now. The barrier has grown thin and darkness now seeps through the holes in the Nothing. Dark worlds have crossed the border in to the Light. Foreseeing the chaos that is to come, special hearts of pure light were born to banish the darkness once again. However, even this did not stop the darkness. Kingdom Hearts drew out its final hope._

_Hearts born to move freely between the realms were born from the forces between. Unawakened powers rest within them that they do not yet acknowledge. They will wield the powers of light and force darkness to bow at their feet. Although, as these hearts battle through their path, not even Kingdom hearts can see how this war will end or where their destinies may lead them..._"

I blinked at the page, stared at it...and blinked again. I was so confused. That didn't make any sense. I flipped to the table of continents and ran my finger down the list. That passage hardly scraped the top of the cake. There was a list with chapters upon chapters of a more in-depth history of earth and the Disney universe. It had the names of the people involved, the worlds that were infected and destroyed, and the Keyblade masters that divided the worlds and the worlds they created.

This...this was all very overwhelming. I had been right about earth being in a separate realm, but I never would have guessed any of this. Was it saying that the ancestors of Riku, Sora, Kairi, and all the inhabitants of Destiny Island, Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, and other worlds like that are all descended from those Keyblade masters that created thoughs worlds? And that there is another person like me somewhere in this universe? And Kaity too?

A throbbing ache was spreading over my left temple. I have to think about all of this. Sleep on it. I have the book, so I can take it with me now. I'm not really stealing. I'll return it. Eventually. It is a library after all.

My body had grown stiff from sitting n that spot for so long. I pulled myself up and stretched before trudging out of the room. My eyes were drooping and I had a hard time staying awake. Maybe I was in there longer then I thought. Or the day's events were just catching up to me. Somehow, I made it to the room Kaity and I were sharing. I pulled back the sheets and accepted the comfortable pillow top bed. I curled up under the cool sheets and closed my eyes. The words from the book still running through my mind. I could see them on my closed eyelids as long forgotten words echoed through my ears as I drifted to sleep.

_You are the one who will end this war..._

* * *

I dreamt of blackness, stretching out into Nothing. It surrounded me, vast and empty. I stood alone in the darkness of my slumbering mind, blankly staring into the endless depth.

"Sam.."

My dreamy gaze widened slightly. "Hm?" Lifting my head up slightly, I turned around pensively and gradually. Everything is so... liquefied. Like the darkness is a bottle of black ink, making me feel like I'm moving through water. Sluggish and placid. I felt...lazy. Wistful. My hair moved with the slowness and cascaded over my shoulders when I stopped. I blinked and opened my eyes to the pale white figure before me.

"Namine?" My voice sounded like an hollow whisper. Smooth and peaceful

Namine smiled and walked to stand in front of me. She tilted her head the slightest bit to the side and clasped her hands behind her back. "I thought there was something strange about you." She said in the same soft voice that was swirling around us. She sounded glad. "When I touched your hand, we were officially connected together. Now we are able to share our thoughts and dreams with one another."

"Wait... we're connected?" I asked confused with my faraway voice. "How? Why?"

Namine still smiled, except this one seemed less cheerful. "I don't carry all the answers, Sam. I only know what I have learned and been entrusted with." She paused. "But, I do know the answers to your questions. At least, most of it..."

"Then please, tell me what you know." I pleaded desperately. "I'm tired of all the secrets and lies."

She nodded. "Alright," Namine said after a moment. "You have read the book of earth and now you know the secret of the unique tie between our hearts and souls. You and Kaity are not friends by mistake, Sam. Although no path is exactly the same, yours and hers twine dangerously close to one another. Paths that are so close tend to share the same experiences and dealings."

Namine paused so that I could take that in before continuing on, looking straight into my eyes. "Kaity is the other heart and soul that is connected to Kairi."

My surprise made Namine laugh. "If you would have looked closer, you would have seen the shared personality and appearance that they have. Kaity is the same sociable, never-let-go kind of person Kairi is. I could tell by just looking at her. Her hair is blonde, but her roots are almost the same deep auburn Kairi's is." She pointed out. I can't say I was entirely surprised. Her nickname is Kairi for a reason and it was mostly for those personality reasons.

"If Kairi is Kaity's other here, then... who's my other?"

"Like I said before, you and Kaity are not friends by mistake." She repeated. "Your other in this universe, Sam, was a young girl. Her home world had been Radiant Garden."

Yes, I noticed the past tense reference in her words. "Had been?"

"Yes," Namine said sadly. "When Radiant Garden was destroyed so long ago, little Dierdra went missing. No one was able to track her down in any world." She explained miserably. "Dierdra was supposed to be one of the Keyblade masters, a really powerful one. But since she had disappeared, so no one knows what became of her and her abilities. While Dierdra was still living in Radiant Gardens, she was one of Kairi's only friends. Dierdra was very sad when Kairi had suddenly disappeared. It wasn't long after that she disappeared too..." Namine sighed.

"Wait a second..." I said as a memory flickered before my eyes. It was that little girl with the flowers walking through the courtyard. The mystery girl in that strange vision. "Did this little girl have long dark brown hair, pale skin, and golden eyes?"

"Yes." Namine said surprised. "How do you-" She stopped talking as a look of understanding crossed her face. "You had a vision of her, didn't you?"

"Yeah..." I said as I held my arms lightly across my chest. "It was a vision. Popped up out of nowhere. The girl was really young though. About eight or nine, at least." Which had possibly been around the age that she disappeared.

"Usually," Namine began. "A person on earth will have dreams of their other in the Light Universe. You know the dreams where they're not about you, but someone else? but you still feel a part of it somehow? It's some kind of communication system between the two beings. Trying to get the two heart and souls to meet so that they can be complete. Before the two meet, it's just kind of like having a Nobody, except each soul isn't missing anything and they both have hearts." She moved to hold her hands behind her back. "Once the person on earth and the other in this universe meet, if they ever do, they can communicate freely through their dreams. Like you and I are doing now." She gestured to me and herself.

I looked down in thought and started thinking about all of this for a moment. Thinking about the missing Dierdra. That poor little girl. I wonder where she had gone. Then I thought about how Namine said that both halves are supposed to look like each other. But I don't have dark brown hair or gold eyes. Kaity has blue eyes like Kairi's, but I have no resemblance to Dierdra. I mean, my roots are dark, but not that dark, and my eyes have a couple of gold looking accents, but they're more of a bluish green. Then I remembered a passage from the book. Yes, Dierdra could be my other but... I looked up at Namine.

"Namine..." I said lightly. "Are you my Nobody spirit?" I asked her. "When you were born through Sora, did your spirit on earth attach to mine?" I mean, it made sense. I can only talk to my others through dreams once we meet, right? Well, I've met Namine and look at us.

Namine smiled warmly at me. "Yes, I am." She admitted. "When I was born, my spirit on earth searched the world until she found you. You had just met Kaity at summer camp. That relation was how she found you. You were timid, alone, and just starting out as an artist. Much like I was when I was born. She immediately knew that you were perfect to be friends with." (A/N: I'm still fifteen in this story even though I'm seventeen in reality. I met Kaity in the summer of 2006...I think XD lol I'm pretty sure it was 2006)

I thought back to that year. That year...that year was the year I made my first real drawing. It hadn't been until Christmas (I had lost inspiration), but it was like a miracle. I had no talent before that. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I could draw. I started to be more outgoing, but still remained shy. Then a few years later, probably after Namine and Kairi joined together, I started to let myself out. I talked to people. Made a lot of new friends. Did Namine's spirit on earth do all this to me when she attached to my own?

"So, Dierdra is, like, my other heart in the Light Universe and you are my Nobody spirit?" I asked her. She nodded. "And I'm supposed to look somewhat like my other, right? Like Kaity looks kind of like Kairi?" She nodded again, but more slowly this time. She was probably coming to the same conclusion I was. "But I don't. I look mostly like you, not Dierdra." She didn't nod again. "Do you think I look more like you because Dierdra is missing?" I asked. "Could it be that Dierdra had died the day Radiant Garden was destroyed? And because of that, you are now my other in this universe?" I used to have dark hair when I was younger. But it grew brighter when I hit my teens. Besides, the statement sounded right, but I had a feeling that Dierdra isn't dead, but she isn't exactly alive ether... but then...where is she?

It took Namine a moment to reply. "I truly don't know anything about what happened to Dierdra." She was barely talking above a whisper. Her eyes had turned down and when she lifted them to meet my own green-blue ones, they were troubled, but she was staring intently into mine. "But Sam... If that is true and I am now the one that is resting on the other side of your heart..." She faltered and hesitated.

"What?" I asked her. Her distressed expression was making dread over come me. What was so horrible about her being my other? "Tell me what's wrong."

"If this is true, then you are in terrible danger." Her eyes shut tightly and she looked down, clasping her hands in front of her as if she were praying. "My abilities are strong and hardly controllable through me. Through you, they are infinite in strength and boundless to the minds around you. The memories around you." Her abilities? She must mean her power to mess with the chains of memories in all the people connected to Sora. Is she saying that I have those powers too?

"In you, these powers are stronger, untamed, erratic, and you haven't even realized that you posses such power..." She looked back into my eyes. "There will be those that will seek out that power for themselves, take advantage of you, and use your power for their own gain..." Her eyes hardened in a sudden anger that flared in her eyes. "Just as the Organization had done to me..."

"But the Organization has been destroyed." I pointed out.

"Yes, the Organization has been destroyed, but many things still lurk in the abyss of the Darkness and Nothingness, Sam." She said intently. "They're growing in power and numbers. They move through the shadows with each other. When they pass by you, you can feel it. It's like a sudden chill in the air." Her eyes closed and she shivered. "I feel them moving back and forth between the Nothing and the Dark."

"You _feel_ them?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes. Roxas also sense's them." Her hands dangled at her side again and she smiled a kind of half smile at me. "Those of us that have resided in the Darkness and Nothing tend to feel the creatures that lurk inside it pass from one side to the other. However, there are others. Other dark creatures resting on the edge deep within the heart of the darkness. They're waiting for a command, but whoever is controlling them is waiting for something themselves. Or someone..."

"Something or someone..." I mumbled closing my eyes and running my hand through my hair frustrated. Nothing was getting accomplished. Yeah, sure, I had most of my questions answered, but I had ten times as many more then I had before. There are way too many puzzle piece's and none of them fit together. "Alright." I opened my eyes and lifted the corners of my mouth in a small grateful smile. "Thanks, Namine. At least some things make a bit more sense now."

"Not a problem." She smiled. "Oh!" At the sudden exclamation, she turned and reached behind herself to pull out an army gray, rusty bronze and black lined crossbody messenger sling back pack. "I almost forgot." She held it out to me. "This is for you. It's a gift. I knew that something was up when I met you and I just kind of had a feeling. I guess it's a good thing I brought this now that I know that you are like me, you'll need this. The bag is deeper then it seems, so you can carry personal objects and anything you pick up on you journey inside it."

I took the coarse material and felt the weight of whatever was inside. It wasn't that heavy, but it was heavy enough for there to be maybe two or three school books inside. I doubt that is what's inside, though. What would I need if I were like her?

"Also, I figured it would probably be a good idea to tell you that we can communicate with one another while we're awake as well." Her hands clasped behind her back again as she informed me of this. "You and Kaity can also talk telepathically now, but only when you wish too and only if you are in the same world as the other."

"Awesome!" I grinned, my spirit totally lifted. "Thank you, Namine. Again." I gave her a quick hug of thanks. "Somehow, we'll figure out what's happening to our universes and everything." I smiled wider. "And don't worry about Roxas." Her cheeks filled with color as she blushed. "Or Sora. Those two have nerves of steel."

"I know." She smiled before sighing wistfully. "It's almost morning, I should go. Be brave, Sam, and always trust your instincts. They are always right." Then, slowly, she faded into the darkness like windblown dust.

"Yeah," I mumbled to nothing. "I know."

The dark closed in around me. The void ringing inside of my mind. I stood alone in the dark for a long time. I don't know how long, but eventually, I sighed and slung the strap of the messenger bag over my head and across my chest charily and proceeded to walk forward. Just...forward. Putting one foot in front of the other. My steps were concentrated and even. My breath was shallow and cool. Namine had explained so much and yet, nothing at all. Questions swam lazily around my thoughts. Like I had forever to figure it out.

From what Namine had said, I have two sides of my heart, two spirits, and two sides to my soul. As well as Kaity. Except, she only has one spirit. My other in this universe was a young girl of Radiant Garden and was best friends with the young Kairi. This clarification explained the strange vision I had before I met Riku on the balcony. What happened to her though? Why has she been replaced as my other by Namine? How do Kaity and I fit into this whole thing? Why did Kingdom Hearts bring us here? What are we supposed to do next?

So many questions. No answers.

After a few minutes of walking, my bare feet slid through something damp, fibrous, and kind of itchy. I looked down to see dark green grass curling around my feet. When I looked up, a dirt path appeared next to me not two feet away. I set foot onto the compact earth and followed it to wherever it may lead. I walked silently along the gravel road and came upon a intersection. I stopped in the center of the crossroads.

I looked to the right to look down the Road to Light and turned my head to the left to look down the Road to Darkness. I turned to look behind me to the road from which I had come and forward to the Twilight Road to Nightfall. Or as Riku would say, the Road to Dawn. I looked to the dark sky above me. Kingdom Hearts wants me to make a choice.

_Forward,_

_Back,_

_Left,_

_Or right_

_Darkness,_

_Light,_

_Dawn,_

_Or twilight_

_Which way will you go,_

_Which way will you choose?_

I hate making choices. I always seem to choose the wrong thing. But...this is an important decision. My choice affects who I am and who I will become. I just stood there helplessly at the roads. I didn't know which way to go. I don't want to walk down the middle road, because I have been walking that path forever straight into the darkness. I don't want to take the light, because I still have darkness in my heart. I don't want to take the dark, because there is light somewhere in my heart. So...what should I choose?

I sat down on the dirt road and rested my head on my hand, thinking. Then I just sighed tiredly and closed my eyes...


	15. Fashion and volunteering

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter fourteen: Fashion and Volunteering

My eyes snapped open as I gasped and sat bolt upright in my bed. I felt cold sweat running along my hairline and neck. Running a hand along the edge of my hair line, I closed my eyes for a moment while I took a few deep breaths and concentrated on lowering my heart rate. Running a shaky hand through my hair, I thought about what had just transpired in my head. I don't think I'm going to want anymore dreams like that if I keep waking up like this. I let out one last breath before laying back down, relaxing on the bed.

Turning onto my side, I moved my gaze over to the other bed to see that it was already empty and made and that the Earth book was lying next to me on the sheets. I closed my eyes again with a groan, turning onto my back. My head was throbbing. A headache right in the front of my brain. I raised a hand and pressed it lightly against the ache. Jeez, it hurts. You know what, I'm not so sure about these telepathic dreams anymore. Namine can just call me from now on. After I get a phone. And she gets a phone. Are there even phones in this universe? I wonder what time it is...

Groaning, again, I kicked the warm blankets off of me and stood on the cool stone. Slow, so as not to irritate my headache. I lifted my arms in a stretch and cracked my neck and back. I sighed as the ache began to slip from my head. As I was glancing down, something dark caught my eye. I looked to see the army gray crossbody back pack at the foot of my bed on the floor. _Huh..._ I thought as I bent over to lift it up _Guess the dream_ was _real. _Not that I though it wasn't. It's just that holding the bag made it more realistic, that's all.

Finding the bronze zipper on the side, I unzipped the larger part of the bag and peered into the dark depths. Well, that's strange. There's nothing in it. I unzipped the rest of the pockets. Nothing, at all. I turned it upside down on the bed and jumped in surprise as things suddenly started to tumble onto the surface of the bed. Wide eyed, I dropped the now empty bag on the bed and examined the objects.

The first things I noticed were the lumps of cloth and leather in the pile. I picked up the dark gray cotton and held it in front of me to see that it was a cowl turtle neck sweater with long sleeves that widened at the hands. It was my size. In the mess was also a black cargo pair of shorts that looked to stop mid thigh. A black leather, sleeveless, hoodie vest and one black fingerless glove/armguard for my left arm was also in the pile. Along with a pair of La Canadienna Gaetana black boots that should stop below my knees. Well, it was an interesting outfit, to say the least.

The rest of the clutter on the bed was an assortment of various pencils, pastels, paints, brushes, and pens. I reached over and lifted the silver covered sketch book off the bed.

_"I guess it's a good thing I brought this, now that I know that you are like me, you'll need this."_

She was right. I needed this. The need to delve into a new world of drawings, to sketch the most beautiful things I see, these needs have been pulling at me for awhile. Especially since I've been here, in this universe. But stronger yet, is the longing to gaze into one's life and memories to draw what I see there... the urge was almost impossible to deny. This longing sacred me. These new abilities...I know nothing about them. A power I hadn't noticed before rested on the very edge of my thoughts. With just the slightest slip up in my concentration, I could lose my hold on it. But then again, this power was amazing. The things I could do with it..._ If I ever wield this unwisely, I might as well just be a foolish child who has found their fathers gun._ I thought as I set the sketch pad back on the bed. _I have no clue what kind of power I'm holding..._

Closing my eyes and sighing through my nose, I snatched up my new shirt and skirt and went to the bathroom to get ready for whatever this day held. I brushed my hair, teeth, and washed the tiredness from my face. I stripped and slipped on the new clothes. They were really comfortable and maneuverable. My old outfit was sitting on a shelf in the bathroom, folded and clean with the flip flops next to it. Kaity's outfit was there as well. Thinking for a moment, I grabbed the two outfits and took them out of the bathroom.

I went out and put the sketch book and various art supplies back into the bag with the clothes. Just then, a light rapid knock came from the door.

"Come in." I said with my back to the door as I stuffed Kaity's jacket into the bag. The door clicked open and light footsteps entered the silent room. I knew it wasn't Kaity, because she would have burst in.

"Hey, I was sent up here to make sure you were up. Again" Roxas said as he walked in. He sounded tired. "Where did you get that?"

I looked up at him and to where he was looking and back to what I was doing. "It was a gift." I stated simply. I couldn't tell him I got it from Namine. Why? it's none of his business where I get my things. Yes, that's rude. But it's true.

Sensing that I didn't want to discuses my new looks and accessories, he went over to sit on Kaity's empty bed. He relaxed and just continued to watch me pack up and get ready. It was really disturbing, actually. I could feel his eyes watching me. Does he ever blink? Awkwardness settled in me as he stared. Just stared. Just stared and watched me as I moved and packed and-_OMG_, this is _creepy_! Alright, the dude is awesome, unbelievably cute/hot and everything, but he is seriously creeping me out right now. I shuddered and turned to face him.

Our eyes met blue to green, unblinkingly. Almost like it was a staring contest. I don't know why I didn't look away. My mind kept telling me too, but I didn't. We stayed like that for awhile. I tried to pull my gaze away, but his eyes... a girl could get lost in them and never find her way out. They were like the sky. A beautiful blue sky, shielding you from the wonders and secrets of the universe that resides on the others side from the naked eye. Sigh. Yup, that's me. The glorious poet of our time and foolish school girl falling head over heels for the hottest guy in the school.

Roxas smiled, _half_ smiled actually, but it was enough. I blinked in momentary surprise and quickly looked away to busy myself with putting on my new boots so that he couldn't see the blush I knew covered my cheeks. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him fall back and lie comfortably on the bed. He closed his eyes and put his hands under his head. It was very Sora like. I finished with my boots and looked up at him.

"So, um, I don't mean to sound rude or anything," I said attentively while brushing some hair behind my ear, "But why are you still in here?"

He cracked open an eye to look at me.

"I, uh, I just mean, why aren't you down there with Sora. You know, discussing stuff or something" Nervousness was making me stutter and ramble. By the way, I tend to ramble a lot. It's a horrible habit. "You don't have to be up here waiting on me. I'm sure you don't want too."

"Actually, yes, I do." He said while closing his eyes again. "It's much too stressful down there. All the anxiety clogging the air was giving me a headache. It's calmer up here. I find that I seem to relax more when I'm around you. I know, that's weird for me to say when I hardly know you."

"Just a bit." I said while slipping on the black armguard. At least my arm won't get welts now. "Why do you suppose that is?"

"I don't know." He murmured. "It's probably your aura or something. Its different then anyone's I've ever been in. It's... serene, yet wild. Unsettling, yet comfortable. Powerful, but tame. It kind of reminds me of being around Namine."

Oh, yeah. Well, that's fitting. Me being some part of Namine and all. I slipped on my necklace and slung my bag over my head to lay across my chest and my bow along with it.

"Alright, let's go." I said in a sigh as I walked to the door. Roxas got up and followed me out. He walked a few steps behind me as we made our way down stairs.

Not long after, we came upon the other three gathered in the courtyard. Roxas helped me close the heavy door. Turning around, I spotted Riku in a odd place. He was perched on one of the high hedges looking down at something. I guess he heard us come through the door because he turned and acknowledged Roxas and I, then turned back around. Now that I was in the area, the sounds of grunts, yells, and sharp clattering and clanging came from around the corner of the hedge Riku was on. I walked up to the corner of the hedge and poked my head around the corner of the leafy wall.

Sora was jumping and dodging about the area with his keyblade out (in kingdom form) swinging it around. Then, as Sora rolled to the side, I saw Kaity trying to keep up and while lunging and dodging with a fancy foil she must have created with her gloves. Foils are the swords you use when you're learning how to swordfight. I felt Roxas come stand next to me and watch them spar. Then Kaity did this whole wild jump/kick move on Sora that had him stumbling back into the hedge where I was standing. I side stepped at the last second into Roxas so that he fell back mercilessly on to the thorny hedge instead of me.

Both of them were panting for breath and sweat glistened on their skin. Sora looked up at me from the seat of thorns he made and grinned, "What to join?"

"No thanks," I said coolly after taking in their state. "I'm long ranged."

He shrugged and started to pull himself from the hedge, wincing at the thorns. "Suit yourself."

Riku jumped effortlessly down to the grass in front of us, "Roxas and Sam are here, finally. It's time to head out." In my head, I was whacking him over the head.

Kaity dropped the foil while wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. The object disappeared in a shimmer of light before it hit the ground. She shuffled over to me to say a quick good morning before backing up a bit and examining my new outfit.

"Interesting look." She said after a minute. I noticed that the guys were leaving us behind, so I started after them with Kaity by my side. "A gift?" She said with a meaningful look.

"Yup." I said off handedly. "She also gave me a sketchbook and supplies." I gently hit the side of the bag to indicate where they were. I glanced sideways at what she was wearing. "What about you? From Kairi?"

"Yuppers." She confirmed. She was wearing a pair of white cargo pants with a vibrant purple strip running down the sides of each pant leg and an elegant bronze design that climbed up just past her knee. Her shoes closely resembled Kairi's from the first Kingdom Hearts game. Then she had on a black shoulder less two quarter length sleeve shirt with not vest. The same bronze design on her pants was on the left side of her shirt. The shirt was skin tight and looked maneuverable. Her necklace hung around her neck like mine.

"Nice." I said with a smile. At that moment I remembered that I hadn't told her anything about what happened last night yet: my chat with Riku, the book, or my wacky complicated thing with Dierdra and Namine. But I don't want the boys to eavesdrop on us. Namine did say something about being telepathic with one another...it's worth a shot, I guess.

We reached the Gummi ship entrance in the castle carved hedge bush and we descended into the darkness, following the guys down the dim stairway. Everything echo's in here, so I have to try it. I carefully placed one foot in front of the other on the dark stairs as I focused on channeling my thoughts through the link between me and Kaity. I trailed my hand along the stone wall on my left to keep my balance. There was no rail and it would suck of I fell. I focused on the link. However, I didn't know if we were connected or not. Nothing felt different. Maybe I should, like, say her name or something... Okay...here goes nothing...

_Kaity..._

The footsteps behind me faltered and staggered down a few steps. I looked over my shoulder to see if she was okay. She was still on her feet, but her eyes were practically popping out of her head staring at me. I jerked my head in a gesture to keep walking. I turned and continued down the stairs of death. There are a lot of stairs here, let me tell you. There must be about twelve floors or something below us still. Jeez, we're going to die. I focused back on Kaity.

_I have something very important to tell you._ I thought to her, _I'd tell you out loud, but the guys would hear us._

_Alright,_ She thought back to me, _Tell me, Oh mind-reader._ There was a slight ghost of a laugh in her thought.

_I'm serious, Kai. _I thought sternly. _No jokes._

_I know, I know. Sorry._

I told her about the strange meeting I had last night with Riku. I told her about his suspicions about us. He saw through our lies. One of us was going to have to tell and explain the truth to him sooner or later. The whole truth. And sooner would probably be better than later.

_I'll tell him. _Kaity piped in.

_You sure? _I asked. _Can you handle that?_

_'Sam, honestly, do you _know_ who you are talking too?'_

_Yeah, yeah, _I grumbled. _Okay, you can tell him what I'm about to tell you, but just wait until the right moment to do it, alright?_

_Yup._

Then I continued on to tell her how I discovered the password and unlocked the book. I told her the secrets that I had found in the book of our home world. She had stopped walking at one point or another. I told her about my meeting with Namine in my dream and what she said to me. I kept the crossroads thing to myself. It's no one's business what road I end up choosing. Although, I don't quite know what that road is yet...

_Kairi came to me in my dream last night, too. _Kaity said when I was done.

_That's what Namine said._ I recalled, _What did she say?_

_She just told me that she was my other and that you would explain what that meant later. _She stated simply. _Oh, and that we can be all telepathic and everything, but only when we want to be._

_Okay._

I silently rejoiced when my feet touched the Gummi ship platform. Since we had covered all of the important stuff, I severed the mental link between Kaity and I while I walked into the belly of the ship and plopped down heavily into the back seats of the control room. My legs ached. Next time, I'm just going to fall down the stairs. Jumping over the edge is a good alternative as well. The guys closed the hatch as Kaity trailed in behind me and sat next to me. We buckled up and an odd thought struck me.

Where the hell are we even going?

Great. Awesome. I'm so good at knowing the steps before I take them. Points to me.

"Uh, where the heck are we going?" I asked no one in particular.

"Radiant Gardens." Sora answered instantly. "Figured that we would start there. Check up on old friends and all that."

"We can also get the warp drive fixed there as well." Riku added, glaring at Sora briefly. "It will allow us to save time traveling between worlds."

"Ah, So how long will it take to get there without the warp drive?" Kaity asked.

"An hour, maybe less."

Oh, yeah, that's right. Radiant Gardens is practically next to Disney Castle. Cool. No boring long ride.

"You guys are going to want to stay buckled up, though." Sora suggested as he got the ship going and was moving out. I didn't dare try to say something as the ship moved upward in fear of screaming in panic. I closed my eyes and felt Kaity reassuringly press her arm against mine.

"Why?" She asked for me.

"There are a lot of heartless between the worlds." He explained. "Especially between worlds that have more darkness in them than others. So, unless you want to be tumbling about the ship mercilessly, I suggest you stay strapped into your seat."

I almost turned green at the mere thought of cart wheeling through space. Motion sickness is my best friend in any moving vehicle. Except theme park rides. I don't know why. I just don't get sick on them. It's weird. I sat in my seat with my eyes closed trying to find my happy place. Hoping that there weren't many heartless. But you know what? All forces of nature hate me.

We did end up running into heartless. I made it through without getting sick, though. That's a plus for me. I understand now though why Sora isn't allowed to drive. We eventually stopped twirling every which way and Sora cried out that we were there. I opened my eyes and looked out the huge glass dome. Wow. Radiant Gardens actually looks a whole lot better. The restoration crew must be working their butts off. The Gummi ship descended gently through the atmosphere of the world and landed just outside the outskirts of the town. We exited the ship and trekked up the rocky slope to the town.

Kaity and I fell back behind the guys and vaguely followed them as our eyes strained to soak up every detail we could. The roofs of the shops in the square were repaired and looked really nice. The cobblestone ground was crack free and sported no weeds. There was no more construction equipment anywhere in the square. Guess that means the committee is done here.

"This place looks really good." Kaity commented out loud.

"Yeah," I agreed. "It's starting to take on its original appearance before the darkness destroyed it."

The guys led us out of the square shopping district and down a flight of stone stairs that went into a lower level of homes. I guess we're heading to Merlin's house. The house's look a bit more patched up and livable, but they still need to have work done on them. We wove through the maze of homes. The layout of the houses seems to be much vaster then it is in the game. Before long, we came upon a more battered looking house with umbrellas twirling on the roof. Don't ask, I don't know why. It's Merlin's house. He and his weird magic. Now I have that stupid Higitis Figitis song stuck in my head. Perfect.

We didn't stop outside the door like we did Disney Castle. Sora just walked right up to the arched wooded door way and strolled inside. Not even a knock on the door or a "Hey is anyone home?" Don't tell me that we have to find a way back home _and_ teach these boys some manners as well. _I'm going to need a ruler, _I thought as I walked in behind Kaity.

The inside of Merlin's House looked pretty much the same as it had in the game. Books were scattered and unorganized all over the area, dust and dirt covered almost every surface, and more than a few things were tipped over with their contents scattered across the ground. Basically what they need is a maid. I did notice, however, that the twin sized bed against the wall had nothing on it for a change and had been made and that a kettle of water had steam slowly rising from it on the stove. Most of the light in the one roomed house was coming from the blinking monitors that covered half of the back wall. Typing frantically over the keyboard (like he always does), was a spiky blond haired guy with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. I should have realized that was why this place smelled so disgustingly like smoke. My lungs don't cooperate very well around large amounts of smoke.

So, there I was, standing just inside the doorway, hacking up a lung when Cid Highwind turned around to see what was causing the noise.

"Why are you causing so much damn noise girl?" Cid hollered as he swiveled around in his chair to yell at me.

"Because of-cough-your-cough-disgusting habit." I went into another round of violent coughs. Kaity hit my back in an attempt to help. I stumbled back to the door way and shoved my head outside to take a deep breath of the fresh air. Once I could breath, I leaned against the doorway where the fresher air was blowing into the house. I shot daggers at Cid. "Open a window or something, Old man!" I shouted at him. Wow. What a great first impression. Blowing my head off at him. I forgot that he smokes.

"Old man-?" He yelled with a start. "Why you little-"

"Cid!" Sora interrupted him by stepping between him and me. "We need some help."

He looked to Sora with surprise. "Sora!" He exclaimed, totally forgetting about me. "Thought we'd seen the last of ya. What kinda help you need?"

"Yeah, well, you know," Sora said putting his hands behind his head. It's a habit. "Heartless to banish, worlds to save. Uh, our Gummi ship needs a new warp drive put in..."

"Wadda ya do to the other one?" Cid narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Sora laughed nervously as Riku stepped forward to answer the question. "Sora took a joyride and knocked it out."

"Brilliant." He said sarcastically while turning back to whatever he was doing. "There's probably nothin' left of it."

While they had been talking, Kaity went around the room and opened all the windows. She understood my aversion to smoke and went to make a solution. It was a great first impression though, dontcha think?

Sora looked around curiously and turned back to Cid. "Where is everyone?" He asked.

I looked inside when he said this. Usually, Leon, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie or someone is in there. Huh, where are they?

"On patrol."

"Patrol?" Riku echoed in a question.

"We had to set up a heartless patrol to make sure those creatures were being kept in check." Cid explained. "Those kids have givin' themselves day and night shifts and are wearing themselves the hell out by it. When they're not patrolling, their sleeping. Not enough people to do the shifts."

Oh, no. I watched as Sora got that We-can-help-out look on his face. He's going to volunteer us to patrol for them. Great. I groaned as Sora did just that.

Cid glanced at us out of the corner of his eye before replying, "Sure, why not?" He grunted, shrugging his shoulders. "Talk to Leon about it. He's stationed up at the castle with Aerith today."

"Thanks Cid!" Sora called as he and the others joined me out front. As Riku passed me he rolled his eyes at me for causing a scene earlier. I stuck my tongue out at him.

Sora walked up front with Riku, talking quietly to him. Roxas trailed behind them, piping in to their conversation every now and then. They were being awfully careful not to be over heard. Must be discussing the quest or whatever you want to call it. I don't see why they can't tell us what the king told them. Unless it's, like, about us or something. The way they keep it though makes it feel a top-secret file that can be strictly viewed by only masters of the keyblade. Even though none of them are really Keyblade masters. No worries, though. They have to tell us sooner or later, right?

Yeah... that's what I thought...

We walked through the bailey and down the rubble from the stairs that were destroyed by heartless. No heartless crossed our path as we walked. Guess someone on patrol just passed through here and cleaned the area. When we reached the ground level, we veered right and continued down the pathway that leads through the castle construction zone. Everything was so familiar. It took almost everything I had not to run headlong down the cobble stone path to the castle. I can't show that I know anything about where I am. It's really frustrating.

It took us awhile to reach the castle. I hadn't expected it to take this long, but I should have. In the game, they cut out time consuming walks from one place to another. Definitely something to remember. Plus we're walking. Sora rarely walks anywhere in the game. I guess it's time for me to get into shape. I should probably should learn some combat fighting, too. I'm not totally defenseless though. I know some basic moves from friends who have taken Jujitsu, Ti Kwando, and Karate. Other than that though, I'm toast. Maybe Sora or Riku can teach me some moves. Something to ask later.

Once we were in the castle, we navigated our way through a maze of hallways to find a smallish room at the end of one. It was Ansem the Wise's study. I expected it to be the cluttered mess that it had been in the game, but it was straightened up and clean. Glass objects lined up on the shelves next to some books that all seemed to refer to the heart in one way or another. Over on the other side of the room, a tall man of maybe, I don't know, twenty something stood by the entrance to the secret room that branched off of the study. He was guarding it. I never thought of Leon as particularly handsome or cute, but there was just something about him that pulled you in. Made you take a second look as he passed by. I always used to think that it was his I'm-tough-as-nails attitude, but now that I've actually seen him... I think it's that feeling you get when you look in his eyes of a person and see a promise of a softer side. A promise that holds together such an expression and grace his moves. But I don't know... It's Leon. You never know what to expect.

"Hey, Leon!" Sora called with a smile, running up to him.

Leon looked over to us and gave us one of his rare smiles. "Well, if it isn't the Keyblade master returned." His eyes shifted to take in the rest of us behind Sora. "And I see you brought more friends."

Sora smiled, "Yup! This is Riku, Roxas, Kaity, and Sam." He gestured to each of us in turn. "Guys, this is Leon. He's in charge of the Radiant Garden restoration committee."

We waved and spoke various hellos while Leon nodded in hello back. His attention went back to Sora. "What can I do for you? I'm assuming that you didn't just drop in to say hello, being so busy with saving the worlds and all."

Sora sheepishly smiled. "Well, we are on a mission at the moment, but we don't have a game plan yet. We heard about your heartless situation and figured that we'd help out while we're here."

"That's great." Leon said, "We could use the help. Check into one of the local Hotels and report to Merlin's house tomorrow morning. Then we'll send you guys onto patrol."

"Alright," Sora said happily. "We'll be there. See you later!"

Sora turned with a wave and walked out of the room. Kaity and I fell behind again, but remained silent as we walked. It was a quiet trip to the hotel. Hardly anything was said.

So tomorrow, we would be sent out to fight heartless. Alright, Cool. Awesome. There's just one problem...

I have no clue how to fight off a heartless.


	16. Lessons and thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

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Chapter Fifteen: Lessons and Thoughts

We checked into the closest hotel by Merlin's house we could find. We got three rooms. One for Kaity and I, one for Roxas and Sora, and one for Riku. The rooms in the hotel had two twin beds, a bathroom with a shower, and one dresser. It wasn't much, but it was simple and that was just fine. The balcony connecting to the room had a stunning view of the town and the castle. It was especially beautiful with the sun slowly setting behind the castle.

After we were done settling into our room, I grabbed my bag and plopped down into one of the two chairs placed on the back balcony. Kaity crashed onto one of the beds and hadn't moved since we entered the room. So I took it upon myself to find some way to entertain myself. That's when I noticed the view. I couldn't find anything else to do, so I decided to sketch the scenery from the balcony chairs. After settling my chair, I laid my bow on the table close to me, in case any heartless popped up.

My hands glided smoothly and confidently over the paper as I attempted to recreate the marvel before me. Already, various hues of sea blue, russet orange, and sun set pink were littering the white page in my sketchbook. Although the colors say different, the sun was far from setting. By a few hours at the most. I rested the pencil against the page and took in the scene laid out before me for the hundredth time. I relaxed into my seat, and for the first time since Kaity and I arrived in this universe I felt...like I could finally breathe. Like the stress wasn't going to smother me. I sighed and smiled slightly as I sketched the outline of the castle in the distance.

"Nice view, huh?"

I let out a startled gasp and whipped my head up towards the voice. So much for peace and quiet.

"You have talent." Said Roxas from above me. His arms were folded under his chin on the edge of the roof. The rest of his body was laid out on the rest of the roof behind him. I had to crane my head up to see him. His eyes were focused on my drawing.

"What?" I said brilliantly. How did I not notice him up there? I didn't even hear him climb up there.

"Your drawing." He pointed out. "You're very good."

"Oh," I said looking back down to it. "Uh, thanks." I looked back up at him. He shifted his eyes to mine. The color of his eyes was the same as the sky above us. So light and beautiful...but hiding something behind it. We stared at each other for awhile. I tried to peer into those depths. To the universe hidden behind the sky. But...my eyes were too weak to see past the blue veil. I closed my eyes and lowered my head letting out a soft sigh. I wonder what he can see when he looks into my eyes. If he can see the strange darkness hidden under the canopy of leaves. I groaned mentally. I do not need to be thinking about this.

"Um, what are you doing up there anyways, Roxas?" I asked as I ran a Caribbean blue pencil across the page.

"Hm?" He said as if I pulled him out of his thoughts. "Oh, just board."

"So...your watching me draw?

"Yup."

"Okay..." I drew out the word to emphasize the weirdness of his actions. Not that I'm not used to people watching me draw. I don't exactly like it. Besides, what's fun about watching someone else do something as boring as drawing? "Why aren't you with Sora or Riku?"

"Sora is off meeting up with old friends and Riku is... somewhere." He explained. Somewhere? That's a perfect place to be. "Where's Kaity?"

"Inside staring at the ceiling." I said while picking out a tint of pink. "It's a lot more fun than it sounds. I do it all the time." I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye with a small smile. "You should try it sometime."

Roxas laughed. "So, are you ready to fight some heartless tomorrow?"

"Nope." I made the 'p' pop with my lips. "I'm really only good for the flying ones and really big heartless. There's a lot of ground heartless here. I'll be completely useless." I explained miserably.

"Why are you only good for flying heartless?" He asked. "Wait; don't you know how to fight?"

I pointed with my left hand to my bow that was lying on the table. "I'm long ranged." I said grabbing another color. "And no, I don't really know how to fight. I'm kind of a pacifist, actually."

"Not even self-defense?" He asked surprised.

"Well, I know some self defense and a few other techniques, but other than that...No experience at all."

"Well, we're just going to have to fix that now, aren't we?

I looked up at Sora and Roxas' hotel balcony to the left of me. Riku was perched on the stone guardrail that wrapped around the balcony. He was leaning against the bricks watching me draw. What is so fascinating about me drawing? I mean, really? Wait a second...What did he say?

"We're going to what?" I asked. "Wait, no, I don't need-" I faltered when I looked into his exasperated face.

He stood straight and stretched, "You can't go out fighting heartless without knowing how to throw a punch."

I stiffened. "I know how to throw a punch!" I snapped offended.

"Nevertheless, you need to learn more than that." He walked along the rail until he stood near the front of it. He looked back to me. "Come on." His eyes shifted to Roxas. "You too, Roxas."

"Uh, where are we going?" I asked confused as I leaned forward in my seat.

"I'm going to teach you how to fight." He stated like it was obvious. Well... it was, but that's beside the point. When he saw my reluctance to move, he narrowed his eyes at me through his bangs. "You don't have a choice in this, Sam."

I hesitated for a moment while Roxas joined Riku on the ledge. "Don't have a choice, my butt." I muttered. But he was right. I needed to learn how to defend myself. I sighed heavily and packed away my supplies and sketch book into my bag. I rose out of my seat and went into the room to set my bag on my bed. Kaity was still staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, Roxas and Riku are forcing me to learn how to fight." I called over to her. "Want to come?"

"No."

No? Kaity never say's no. I peered at her. She truly looked bored and tired and... in pain. Okay..."Hey, Kai, you okay over there? You look horrible."

"Headache." She grumbled.

I walked into the bathroom and came out with a small white pill bottle in my hand. "Kind of surprising that they have Tylenol here, yeah?" I threw the bottle at her side on the blanket. She picked it up and peered at it. "Take some. You'll feel better in about twenty minutes. If you want to join us then, we'll probably be in a large open space. Like the Castle Gate, the Great Maw, or somewhere. If you don't want too, Sora went out looking for old friends. You could look for him."

"Yeah, alright." Kaity pushed herself up and made her way to the bathroom.

It was weird. Earlier today, I had felt a headache coming on and took something for it before it got too bad. Kaity has a headache now as well. Maybe it's just because our minds are adjusting to the fact that we can communicate telepathically now.

"If you choose to do neither, try and get some sleep." I called to her. "I'm going to go, I'll see you later." A grumble of some kind followed me out of the door.

I closed the door and looked up into the boys impatient faces. Well, Riku's impatient face. Riku had his arms crossed and was taping his fingers on his arms. Roxas was just standing there with his hands in his pockets, gazing off into the sun. I made a face at Riku. He sighed and turned around to jump down to the cobblestone path below. Roxas followed him. I walked to the edge of the balcony and peered down to them. They looked up at me from the ground expectantly. Uh, there is no way they expect me to jump down after them. Because I'm not.

"Uh, I think that I'm just going to take the stairs." I called down to them.

Riku narrowed his eyes at me. "Jump."

"It's not that far." Roxas called up.

"We don't have all day." Riku added.

"Yeah, no. I'll see you in a second."

"Sam..." Riku sighed irritated.

I groaned. Why me? I backed up from the rail and ran my hand across it. The surface was much like the rail at Disney Castle. Wide and smooth. Hmph.

You know that stupid question every single parent asks? The one about the friend that jumps off the bridge? Well...I guess this is my mom's answer.

I backed up to the door and pressed up against it and looked to the heavens. I cannot believe that I am doing this. My lungs filled with a deep breath of air as I lurched forward for the rail. My strides were long and confident. I reached for the rail in three strides and stuck out the palm of my hand to press against the cool surface. I made sure it was placed in a way so that it wouldn't twist the wrong way. On my last step, I pushed up with the balls of my feet to throw myself up into the air. Time seemed to slow as my body went parallel to the rail. My knees were bent back, already prepared for the coming impact. My body arched over the rail and I began to descend. My hand slipped from the surface and both of my arms flew out to my sides. My knees were bent so that I wouldn't break my legs on impact. The balls of my feet hit the cobblestone, absorbing the force of the impact. I let out a long breath in relief.

I did it. I jumped from a two story balcony. Awesomeness! Take that bridge jumping people! I stood up straight and looked to Riku and Roxas. A proud smile was running through my brain and most likely across my face. Riku just gave an annoyed sigh and took off down the alley. Roxas half smiled at me and ran off after Riku. Well, proudness gone. I lowered my head and sighed before taking off after the two of them.

We raced to the Bailey, down the rubble slide and turned to go down the left stone path. I knew this path. It's the path that leads down to the Castle Gate.

The three of us slowed to a walk at the bottom of the steps. I stopped not far from the steps and examined the area. There was still some rubble that littered the sides of the surrounding cliffs, but the blue and mint green mosaic on the ground was still intact with all of its colors. I tilted my head a bit while looking down at the design. This is the place where Sora defeated Demyx in the second game. Oh, how I hated that battle. Took me two days to beat him. However, it took me six month to beat Xaldin, so it wasn't my worst.

"Is this where we are practicing?" I asked as I examined the area.

"Yes." Riku confirmed. He turned to me and waited while I walked up to him. I stopped about a yard away from him. Roxas didn't join us, but stood to the side. I wonder what Riku has on his mind. Teaching me how to fight is about as good as trying to teach a cow to move out of the road.

"How much do you know about fighting?" He asked. "So that I have some idea of where to begin."

I thought about that for a minute. "Just a few basic moves, really." I admitted. "Like, how to throw a punch, twist a person's arm, and knock someone's feet out from under them..."

"Alright." He said taking a few steps back. "Give it a go." He spread his arms wide in invitation.

"I'm sorry?" I asked taken aback.

"Show me what you can do." He said. It sounded more like an order... "That is, if you can." He challenged with a smirk.

He's baiting me. I narrowed my eyes at him and scowled. What a jerk. Trying to provoke a girl into fighting him. Hmph. I kept my body relaxed. My brain shifted through several different scenarios of attacking him. My muscles began to tense as I thought about what I would have to do.

Rule number one about fighting: Never show your opponent that you mean to attack.

I mentally smirked and lifted my bow over my head and set it on the steps by a cliff wall. I went to walk back to where I was standing, but that wasn't my plan. Taking a deep, silent breath, I made my steps look nervous and reluctant. I watched Riku's eyes flicker over to Roxas and I snatched that temporary moment of carelessness and launched myself at him. My steps echoed off the surrounding cliff walls as I came down upon him.

Fisting my right hand I braced my weight in my left foot as it landed before him, propelling my fisted hand right into his side below his ribcage. With most people, if you hit them right in the gut the reaction isn't great. Some can hardly feel the blow and recover quickly. Especially with my strength. It would have felt like being hit by a teddy bear. However, when something hits you in the side, it hurts like all the fires of Hell.

Riku reflexively punched out his right hand to throw me off, but I was already expecting that. I ducked down to a crouch as his arm flew over me, hitting air. With a quick breath, I moved to the side and kicked his knees out from under him. Riku's legs buckled from underneath him and he started to fall to the left. I prepared to launch myself away before he could retaliate. However, I'm inexperience and Riku taller, bigger, and smarter than I am. Besides that, I'm as slow as a snail in molasses.

As Riku was falling, he swung out his left leg and caught me on my side. A sharp pain exploded across on my left side. I let in a sharp gasp and hit the ground hard. Riku pushed up off of the ground with his right arm and pushed himself onto me. The force of him falling on top of me made us tumble across the ground. We stopped rolling with Riku on top and me on the bottom, totally pinned down. I glared up at him fuming. He just smirked back at me. Oh, how I wish I could slap that smirk off of his face!

"That was good." He appraised. He wasn't even out of breath! God, I suck. "Nice way of approaching, could have used a bit more force in the punch, but a well planned attack for getting your enemy to fall." He narrowed his eyes a bit at some thought. "However, you're too slow. If you'd gotten away sooner, you would have been fine." He stood up and offered a hand to me.

I scoffed at him. Ignoring his offer, I stood up and dusted myself off. Riku pulled back his hand and looked over to Roxas. "What do you think?"

"Predictable." He answered. "A punch to weaken the enemy followed by a kick to the knees to bring them down. Effective, but predictable."

Hmph. I never said I was an expert. I only know the basics so that I can escape if someone tries to take advantage of me. Like I've said many times before, I don't like to fight. But it seems that I don't have much of a choice anymore in what I want...

The rest of the evening progressed on with both Roxas and Riku teaching me how to attack and defend myself. One would teach me to do something and demonstrate the move, while the other would correct my stance and angle. After an hour or two, I ran out of strength and went to sit on the stone steps. The boys had decided to spar with each other. Riku summoned his Keyblade (The Way to Dawn) while Roxas summoned his Keyblades Oblivion and Oathkeeper. I had noticed Sora using the Kingdom Key earlier today while sparing with Kaity. Hm, I wonder if Kaity and I will ever get Keyblades...

Probably not.

I sat there for another few minutes watching the boys fight. My mind wondering aimlessly. Then a question popped up in my thoughts. I focused back on the guys.

"Hey, Roxas," I called out.

"Yeah?" He said while dodging an attack from Riku.

"Why aren't you joined with Sora anymore?"

Roxas froze and looked at me startled. What did I say? I ran back over the question in my head. Realization and stupidity washed over me. Ah, crap. That question indicated that I knew he was a Nobody. Sora's Nobody. Not knowing what else to do, I covered my slip-up with a face. "I'm not stupid."

Roxas glanced at Riku. "How did you know what I was?"

"I may not know how to fight, but that doesn't mean that I know nothing." I replied dryly. "After learning about the Heartless, I became curious to what happened to the soul and the body after the heart was gone. Whether they died or become something else." That's not a lie. After I did learn about the Heartless in Kingdom Hearts, I did wonder about that. Then Kingdom Hearts II came out. "So I went into researching about it. I found an answer to my question." Yeah, that is if you count online sights, manuals to the game, and manga books research.

Roxas warily looked at me. "I was fused with Sora, but then a few days ago, I woke up lying on Sora's bed room floor. For some reason, after Sora absorbed the powers that were transferred to me when I was born, his heart kicked me out. It was weird... It was like I no longer belonged within him..." Roxas had switched his gaze from me to the setting sun where his face lit up with the dim rays. Roxas was kicked out? How could that be? Every site, book, and even the creator of Kingdom Hearts said that Roxas was officially connected with Sora. That he was gone, but somehow still within the other side of his heart. Wow...Something I don't know about Kingdom Hearts. Now I'm screwed... how much of what I know is a lie?

Riku must have been studying my expressions, because he was wearing that look again. The same one he was wearing when he first met Kaity and I. the silent, contemplative suspicion. Crap. I thought we had moved past this already. I met his gaze with my own. What could it be this time? What could he know...

"It's strange..." Riku started slowly, "You seem to know so much about us...this world and universe...like you had been with us our whole lives, but we've never met before and we know nothing of you."

I held my breath. I hadn't been careful enough.

"So," He said crossing his arms. "Why don't you enlighten us a bit about yourself. Your past, problems, and adventures. You seem to already know all about ours."

I felt my face harden. From what emotion, I don't know. So many where churning inside me from his words. Anger, sorrow, pain...shame. I held his gaze as the emotions flashed across my eyes. They were too quick for one to remain constant, but I allowed them to be shown. My eyes widened when I saw them reflected within Riku's eyes from my own. There were too many... I quickly shut my eyes to darkness before he accidently saw something I didn't want him to know. I turned my head to the distance and ground my teeth. How could I be so stupid? The warmth of the sun fell on my face. The coolness of the breeze glided across my cheeks. I let out the breath I had been holding.

My problems...my past...

Hmph...My problem is my past. The way I had been brought up. What I was made to believe. Everything I thought that had been true. Everything I found to be a lie. The pain of the loneliness. The longing to be accepted. To be a part of something bigger then myself and my own little world. The shame and rejection that clouded most memories...These are my issues. My adventures. Not theirs. They have no reason to know about them. No reason to know about me. I won't be here that long anyways. But I have a reason to know them. I don't know what that reason is, but I do have it.

A sort of hollowness settled over me as I opened my eyes to the sun. "It's late." I said tonelessly. "We should get back." I lowered my head and picked up my bow from the ground.

"You didn't answer me." Riku stated sharply.

"Of course." I fired back. "No questions were asked." I still didn't look at him as I slung my bow across my back.

"Why won't you answer me? What are you hiding?"

I pivoted away from them. "Nothing."

"Oh, okay, _nothing_." He aggregately crossed his arms. "I'm sure that _nothing_ didn't have any relation what-so-ever to all that anger and shame that had flashed across your face." I snapped my head around to face Riku's irked gaze. He just stood there. He uncrossed his arms as he continued to speak. "I can sense how close you are to the darkness. If you don't begin to reign in those feelings, the darkness will eat away at them until your empty. A hollow being with no purpose to live." He ended, biting off his words.

I glared at him with all the anger I could muster up, but before it could burst out, my eyes lit with a knowing gleam. Now it was my turn to make Riku glare at me. I gave out a long breath and looked to the sky now alight with the colors of the setting sun. "It is not your place to know me. It is, however, my place to know you." I looked back down to him. "Riku..." I faltered and sighed; glancing first to Roxas then back to the setting sun. "Soon... there will come a time that we will all have to make a choice..." My eyes rested back on his. "Between what is right... and what is easy. Then judgment will be upon us. It is after that time that you may question me and my choices." I turned to walk away. No one stopped me as I made my way out of the area and up the treacherous path. After I turned the corner and I was out of sight, I let out a breath and stared at the path. "But that's only if you make the choice as well... I'm not the only one getting to close to the darkness."

I eventually made it back to the hotel. Kaity was leaning on an outside wall and smiled brightly when she saw me coming. She skipped over to me with the never ending energy she seemed to always carry with her. "So, how was training?"

I shrugged. "It was okay." I smiled in reassurance. "Learned something's, got to punch Riku," She laughed. "Honestly, I'm just really tired."

"We'll go back up to the room then." She said turning to go into the hotel.

"Yeah, okay." I yawned and followed her inside and up the stairs to our floor.


	17. Authors Note Very Important

Hey everyone :) I am **_soooooooooooooooooooooooo_** sorry that I haven't updated until now. Life has just been crazy with school and drama. I've hardly been on the computer in the past few months to type anything. I have my own computer now, though, so the chapters should be coming a LOT faster.

Plus with the release of Birth By Sleep, I had to rewrite a bit of my story. And since I had to rewrite some stuff, I thought I'd go ahead and reedit all the chapters. Yeah, crazy, stupid idea, but that's a part of why it's taken me so long to update. It's not easy reediting something you wrote when you were 15 and now your 17...

Anyways, this chapter is supposed to be written by Kaity, herself, but she's a lazy bum and hasten finished it yet. I'm bugging the hell out of her about it, so hopefully, I'll be able to post it before the end of summer...maybe... But I'm still going to be posting chapters after this one :)

But I'm going to tell you what this chapters about, so you're not lost in the future ones.

In this chapter, Kaity and I go to bed. but Kaity gets up and goes out on the balcony and Riku joins her. They start talking and Kaity spills everything to him. Who we are, where we're actually from, ect. So now Riku knows. But Sora and Roxas don't know yet. Thats' bascially all this chapters about.

The chapters in Kaity's point of view and I know she asked me if she could have a crossroads experience like I had a few chapters ago.

Please don't be horribly mad at me. I can't help it if life gets in the way. I really enjoy writing this story and I hope you enjoy reading it :)

Like mention earlier, you might want to go back and reread the other chapters. I changed a bit of the important details...

I'm sorry for and spelling and grammar mistakes. I'm horrible with that.

Don't expect another chapter for another month though, I'm not at home. I'll be going to DYA and camp :D I'm so excited!

~Dreamer on south 5th st

P.S. I'm serious about rereading it. I changed a lot of stuff...


	18. A Rose Smells Just as Sweet

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

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Chapter seventeen: A Rose Smells Just as Sweet

The next morning, I opened my eyes to the dawn light that was streaming through the crack in the closed curtains. The light wasn't very bright, considering that the sun rise's in the east and the window is facing the west, but it was light enough to say that it was around seven something. I narrowed my eyes at the cracked curtain. The little shaft of light was right in my eyes. Literally. When I sleep, it has to be dark. Really dark. When the sun rise's in my room at home, I wake up right as the first light floods across my eyes. I never had to set an alarm clock because of this. I'm also a light sleeper, so any noise made within my hearing range wakes me up as well. Unless if I've taken some sleeping pills.

I guess it comes from being raised in a quiet neighborhood. The down fall of that, however, is that after these sleeping habits formed, we moved to a neighborhood where every siren and late night party keeps me up. Yeah, it sucked. But something was bothering me... why was I awake now? The light outside wasn't nearly bright enough to wake me up yet.

An audible thump sounded on the balcony outside our room. It made me jump. The sound of footsteps walking across the balcony had me pulling the blanket away from my face. Someone is on our balcony. From the volume of the thump, I would guess that they ether jumped down from the roof or from another balcony. Whichever it was, they hadn't moved on from ours. The dim slant of light flickered as whoever was out there passed by the window. Pushing myself up, I propped up my raised upper body on my elbow and glanced over to Kaity to see her still asleep in her bed. She hadn't woken up at the noise. I threw the sheets off of me and swung my legs to the ground to stand up. I didn't bother with putting on shoes.

Cautiously, I moved to the covered window to peek out on to the balcony. And - much to my surprise - there, on the balcony casually leaning on the railing looking over across the town, was Riku. I know he could feel my eyes on him, but all he did was pat at the railing next to him as a clear sign for me to come join him.

I groaned in relief as well as exasperation before heading into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Morning breath is not pleasant in any way what-so-ever. I ran my fingers through my hair to straighten out some of the knots. I was still tired and now I'm exasperated at the fact that he woke me up so damn early. He better have a good reason or else I'm feeding him to the heartless.

I checked to be sure he was still out there - he was - before opening the door and shutting it behind me. He didn't look back at me.

"Alright," I huffed as I walked over to him. "What the hell are you doing on our balcony so damn early in the morning?" I stopped walking when I was at the rail he was leaning on.

"Good morning to you too." Riku acknowledged. I just stood there by his side, starring him down silently. I was still pretty wound up from yesterday's event's. Not a good thing on his part. Riku sighed heavily after a moment of my unspoken starring. Something was bugging him and he wanted to talk about it. Seeing that he's on my balcony and called me out her, I'm guessing he wants to tell me. Well, I'm here, so he better start talking.

"Last night, Kaity caught me out here... I don't know, moping is what she called it." He chuckled at the supposed memory before sliding his expressionless face back on. "She explained something's to me and cleared up a few misunderstandings I have had about you two."

Realization lightened my eyes for a moment. Kaity hadn't gone straight to bed last night. I had heard her go out onto the balcony, but I fell asleep before she came back in. Now I know why.

"She told you." I stated quietly.

"Yes." He replied even though it wasn't meant as a question. I turned my eyes away from him and to the horizon.

"So..."

"So," He said with a heavy sigh, "I think that I owe you an apology." He sighed turning to face me solemnly. I flickered my amused eyes to his.

"An apology?" I gasped fighting the smile that tried to creep across my lips. "From the great '-can-handle-everything-and-never-apologize-for-my-mistakes' Riku? I'm shocked!" I smiled.

His lips twitched up a bit. "Yes."

"Alright, for what?" I pressed. I was going to milk this out of him. It was too good.

God, I'm a horrible person.

"For being a selfish and paranoid jerk." He admitted. I gave him a small smile. "So, I'm sorry for judging you without good reason. The situation you and Kaity are in is something I've never heard of or had to deal with before. There is really no excuse for my actions. I knew better. I just get a little... over protective of my friends sometimes."

I grinned widely. Now here is the Riku that I know from the game. This Riku is much better than the silent, paranoid boy that we first met. "Apology accepted." I smiled happily. "I forgive you, Riku. I realize now that we should have told you from the beginning, but I just didn't think you were ready to listen and understand yet."

"Hmph." He turned back to the town.

I also turned my face into the lazy breeze. After sometime of just watching the sky lighten as the sun rose behind us, I yawned and stretched. Then I remembered what we were doing today. "When do we have to be at Merlin's house?" I mumbled tiredly.

"Soon," He sighed, leaning back to stretch his arms out before him. I mentally laughed at the sight. He looked kind of like a cat when he did that. He let out a breath and stood straight. "I have to go get the lazy bums out of their beds." He stated while turning to leave for Sora and Roxas' balcony.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I gotta go get my own lazy bum out of her bed." I went up to the door, grabbed the handle and enter the room.

Closing the door with a soft click, I looked at the lump in the bed closest to the door. Sighing, I flipped on the overhead light and grabbed the blanket covering her, yanking it off. "Get up!" I shouted. "Or I'll tickle you!"

Kaity just covered her head with the pillow and grumbled illegibly. Huffing, I kneeled on the bed and started to tickle her feet. She kicked blindly at me as I laughed. Seeing that she still wasn't getting up, I put my hands against her back and pushed her over the edge of the bed. She yelped and groaned as her face hit the floor.

Chuckling, I looked down over the edge at her. "Oh good, you're up." I got off the bed to stand over her. "Now hurry and get ready to go or Riku's gonna have your tail."

Kaity stood up glaring at me before stiffly shuffling to the bathroom with a "I'm gonna kill you" thrown at me over her shoulder.

I turned to slip on my boots. "Empty threats bring no regrets!" I sang after her. The bathroom door slammed shut. Bending over, I pulled one boot on after I had both socks on. I gasped as a sudden shock went through my fingers. "Ow..." I mumbled. Stupid static shock. I went to grab my other boot and yanked back my hand with a yelp. "Ow! Damnit!" Why am I shocking myself so much? Cautiously, I reached for my boot, but it didn't happen again. How weird.

I stood and slung m bow across my chest when the bathroom door opened and Kaity walked out completely ready to go. At the same moment, a resonating knock sounded on the door. Kaity veered to the left to answer it. Standing outside was Sora, Riku, and Roxas. Riku opened his mouth to say something, but Kaity cut him off. "Yes, yes, we're ready." She mumbled waving it off. "Come on, Sam!"

"Coming." I said while maneuvering around the beds. I met the gang in the hall and locked the door behind myself. As I went to check to see if it was secure, my breath seized and I pulled my arm back with another yelp. I got shocked again! But this time, I was just a few inches from the knob and a line of blue electricity flashed from my fingers to the knob. I tried to touch the knob again, but the same thing happened.

I took a step back and examined my fingers. "What the hell?"

Roxas looked back and saw me looking funny at fingers. "What's wrong?"

"I can't touch the frickin' door knob without shocking my hand off!" I snapped while trying to touch the knob again. Once again, a line of electricity shot from my fingers to the knob. "Ow!"

Sora came up and touched the knob without having any trouble. "Well, it's not the door." No, really? I had kind of figured that out on my own. But thanks anyways.

I felt a hand press against my shoulder. Static stung the surface of my skin and I ducked away from the hand. "Ah! That hurt!" I whined rubbing my shoulder. Roxas was rubbing is hand. Riku walked up beside him.

"Maybe you've developed a ability for thunder? Like magic?" Roxas suggested.

"Yeah, except when you guys use it, it only comes to you when you call it." I retorted. "I didn't call it." I mumbled looking at my fingers again. "Didn't know I could..."

"Sam," Riku said, "How do you activate your bow into its other form?"

I fixed Riku with a look before realization donned on me. "With Electricity... I touch it and a warmth of electric sparks come out of my hands and through the bow." I gasped. "Do you think that's why this is happening? Somehow, I can use the electricity freely know or something?"

He nodded. "You just don't know how to reign it in yet, so everything that touches you gets a jolt of electric energy through it... learning to control that would be a good thing." _No kidding_, I thought. "But we need to go. Cid's going to be mad if we're late." With that, he turned and headed down the hall, to the stairway. Roxas and Kaity trotted after him. Kaity threw a glance back at me. How the hell does he expect me to learn how to control this? Sighing, I warily folded my hands under my arms and followed with Sora next to me.

"Hey, Sam." Sora said from next to me. " I can help you learn how to not shock everything that touches you."

I turned to look at him as we headed out into the early morning air. "You can?"

He gave me a cheesy grin. "Yup. It's really easy."

"Well, tell me." I said anxiously.

"Alright, as you should know, everyone gets eighty percent of their energy from breathing in oxygen." He began. "The average person usually only use's ten percent of that energy. We probably use about forty percent of that since we're always fighting the heartless. Seeing that you specialize in electricity - which is mostly energy in the air from the clashing of atoms and stuff - you take the energy you don't use and convert it into some form similar to lightning and static. Since it has no immediate output, the more air you breath the more energy builds up inside you until it's released. I'm guessing it's over flowed now and is just going into whatever you touch. Are your boots rubber soled?"

"Yes, of course." Where did this kid learn all of this?

"Perfect." He smiled. "When you walk, try focusing the energy down through your body and into the ground. Like a lightning strike. Except the rubber in the sole of your boot will absorb the shock instead of everything you touch. The energy won't build up like it has and after some practice, you could probably eventually measure how much you want flowing through you."

I stared wide eyed at him. Completely amazed at his little science lecture. I guess it's worth a shot...

Concentrating, I gripped the strange tingling sensation buzzing over my skin and imagined it flowing through my sense's naturally and down to the sole of my feet and into the rubber of my soles. I worked on it until it started to feel like a unconscious habit, like breathing. I unfolded my arms when the tingling sensation stopped completely. Sora laid a hand on me and smiled. "See, it worked."

"Yeah, it did. Thanks." I smiled back. "How did you know all of that?"

"No problem. Merlin taught it to me." He replied. "A few years ago. I needed to know what to do when I summoned magic and suddenly didn't need to use it. I didn't know if it would help you or not, but it was worth a shot. And it worked." I laughed and the two of us followed the other three in silence. It was chilly and I was thankful for the sweater I was wearing. The downside was that my knees were cold. I wonder what season it is here. Are there even seasons in these worlds? You know, I should just have a notebook with me so that I can just write down all my questions. That way I can actually remember to ask them.

Gazing up at the sky, I decide I liked Radiant Garden in the early morning. It's not light enough yet for people to be up, so it's fairly quiet. Maybe I'll come out in the morning one day and just enjoy the silence. Merlin's house loomed up in front of us. Light was peeking just underneath the door and beneath the shuttered window. Not bothering to knock, Riku opened the door and stepped into the warm house. I was last to step into the one room building. The smoky smell and haze was gone, thank goodness. I shut the door behind me, blocking out the cold. Kaity sat down on the bed yawning. Glancing at the guys talking to Cloud and Leon, I joined her.

She peered at my warily. "You're not going to shock me are you?"

"No." I huffed. She sighed and fell back onto the comfort of the bed, closing her eyes while the guys talked.

"Alright, down to business." Leon said after a few minutes. "You all have the day shift. We'll have the night. Since there are still so few of you, you each will have your own area to govern. Sora," He said looking to him. "You will have the Marketplace and Borough. Riku, you have the heartless Manufactory. That's a job all on its own." He fixed his eyes on me. "Sam, you will have the Corridors of the Castle, the Postern and the Restoration site. Roxas, you'll have the Restoration site with Sam, the Bailey and the Castle Gate. Kaity, you will have the Ravine trail through to the Dark Depths." His eyes raked over us once he was done assigning us our areas. "Everyone got that?" A varied course of affirmatives answered. "Alright, now that that's settled, Cid?" We all focused our attention on the old smoker.

Cid spun around in his chair to face us. In his hands were five black microphone headsets. He held them out to us. "These will be your provided communication between each other. If you run into some heartless that's too much for you to handle, you can radio in someone for help." As he explained, each of us took a headset and put it on.

"There are eleven different frequencies for you to tap into, but you only need to know five. If you need to talk to a specific person, tune their number in. It's only a two way. If you need to conference, go to eleven. That frequency can tune in all the headsets." Cid picked up one from the front of the computer and put it on his own head. "You can change the frequencies by pressing this small button on the ear piece." He pressed it as a demonstration. "Mine is number one. So if ya'll need me to communicate sumthin' to one of the kids here, call me in. Sora, your two. Riku, three. Roxas, four. Sam, five. Kaity, six. That's all I gotta say." He turned back to the computer screen.

"Okay," Leon leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "Break for lunch at noon, destroy the heartless, don't die and come back at dusk. If anything strange happens, report in with Cid. Think you guys can do that?" Nods from everyone. "Good. Go to your posts." After that last word, he departed through the door of the house.

Kaity and I shared a tired look. Why, Sora? Why did you have to volunteer us for this?

The five of us headed out to our stations. Sora bid farewell before he ran off to his post in the Marketplace. We made our way through the Borough and left Roxas at the gate entrance to the Bailey. Riku had already hurried on down the Restoration site without a word of farewell. That left Kaity and I standing at the division out of the Bailey. Nervous anticipation made us hesitate. I turned to her. "How about we stay tuned into one another. That way we won't be completely alone." I suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

Both of us tuned in our frequencies to the others. Without another word, we gave each other a quick hug and went our separate ways.

I wasn't even ten feet into the Restoration site before five neo-heartless rose out of the ground. I jumped at their sudden appearance and gathered a quick look at them. Dang, they were ugly. I mean, I didn't think they'd be running for Miss America, but _dang_, they are ugly! In reality, they were a lot freakier. The heartless looked nothing like how they were pictured in the game.

Darkness rippled continuously over their bodies as they shifted forward towards me. Their bright yellow eyes locked on me and cloudy black drops of darkness fell from their claws and antennas. It was a scary site. I took a deep breath and pulled my bow from around my chest. Concentrating on the tingling sensation rippling though me, I channeled it into the old wood to transform it into its other form. Aiming at the ant-like creatures, I imagined hitting them all. All five of them. Straight in the heart that wasn't there. Without another thought, I let go of the string and a half second later all the heartless were pinned to the ground with a crystal arrow through each of their chests.

I let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding. "Okay," I sighed. "Five down, a gazillion more to go." Facing the path before me, I ran down the cobblestone, firmly grasping my bow. This just might be easier than I thought.

* * *

"Ah!" I screamed as my foot sank into the ground once again. The shadow heartless swum away across the ground. I pulled back the string on my bow and fired an arrow where it formed. "Stupid heartless."

"_Yeah, these things are really gross."_ Kaity's voice said through the earpiece on the headset.

"Have you seen the Nobodies yet?" I asked as I shot an air heartless that looked like a pirate. "They're not gross, just extremely creepy." I shivered at the memory of them slinking around me. Not something I enjoyed.

_"I had a few Dusks over here, but that's it."_ She replied. I heard her grunt and punch something on the other end. It sounded like a wall. _"Ow! You stupid shadows!"_ I chuckled as I strolled through the corridors of the castle.

"The figure skating nobodies keep showing up over here." I told her. "They're gone, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are dents in the walls." My body was still aching from them throwing me into them. My ribs were really gonna hurt tomorrow. "Where are you now?"

"_The Great Maw. On my way to the Dark Depths_." She replied statically. "_How 'bout you?"_

"I'm making my last round in the corridors." I replied back. "Then I was going to just head back. It will be dusk in about an hour anyways."

"_Same here."_ Static crackled through the connection as she took down another heartless.

We both took down several heartless before Kaity spoke again. "_Hey, do you know if any flowers grow out here?" _

Well, that was random. "Not that I know of." I said thoughtfully. Flowers? "It's too barren out there for life. Why? Did you find some?"

"_No...I didn't find any."_

"Then why do you ask?"

_"I smell them. It smells like orchids... tulips... freesia, and..."_

I turned around a corner waiting patiently for her to continue, but it was just too long of a pause. I couldn't hear anything but her breathing heavily into the microphone. She wasn't fighting any heartless. Actually, I couldn't hear her moving at all. There would be more static from the wind. "'And'? _'And_' what, Kai?" The silence stretched on as I exited the corridors onto the Postern, into the setting sun. "Kai?"

A loud gasp and a scream sounded from the other end.

"_Holy flippin' crap!" _Kaity screamed into my ear. "_Oh my God! Oh my God! Sam! HELP!" _Static almost drowned out her screams from the sudden rush of air hitting the microphone.

"Kaity?" I yelled. "Kaity! What's wrong? What's' happening?" I started running out of the area and to the Restoration site.

I heard her scream again. "_Sam! It's not really them!" _She screamed again_. "No! Let me go!"_ A low chuckle sounded in my ear.

"Kaity! It's not really who?" The sinking rays of the sun blinded me as I started running into them. "Tell me what's going on!"

_"Let me go! No! Sam, it's-"_ Then only static filled my ear.

"Kaity? Kaity!" I yelled into my microphone. "Damnit!" I had just entered the Restoration site. I wasn't going to get there fast enough. I pressed the tuning button until I landed on number four. "Roxas! Get to the Dark Depths! Hurry! Something's happened to Kaity!"

_"I'm on my way!" _He replied as static crackled in the earpiece as he picked up speed. _"I'm at the Castle Gate."_

Roxas would get there first. He would get there faster. I ran through the Restoration site in despair. I won't be able to get to her fast enough to be able to help her. Nor will Roxas. The Dark Depths is on the other side of Radiant Garden. Even if Roxas was at the Castle Gate, it would still take him forever to get there. Damn it all! Why can't I move faster? Wait a second...

"A skateboard!" I gasped as I spotted the object up ahead. I veered to it and jumped on. I screamed as I wobbled and almost fell off, but once I was going, my speed picked up immensely. "Alright!"

I rode straight through the Bailey and the Castle Gate with ease. Heartless popped up along the way, but I ignored them. Someone would get them later. The Ravine Trail was mostly up hill and took more of a effort to get through. I cut through the Crystal Fissure into the great maw. A white figure was running in front of me up ahead.

Roxas.

He disappeared from site a minute later.

"_I'm almost there._" Roxas said through the head set. "_I tried calling her in, but all I got was static._"

"Yeah, I saw you up ahead. I'm still crossing the Great Maw. Just hurry!" I replied. The anxiety was killing me. I reached the end of the Great Maw and cut around the corner to see Roxas enter the Dark Depths.

"_Holy Crap..._"

"What?" I snapped. "What is it?" But he didn't reply.

I sped through the path and jumped off the board when I reached entrance. I ran in only to stop abruptly next to Roxas. My eyes widened and I could have sworn my heart stopped. I stumbled forward, looking up at the shower of red petals. "Oh my God..."

And Rose's.

Orchids... tulips... freesia... and rose's.

I looked down and spotted something black lying among some fallen petals. Walking over to it, I picked up Kaity's abandoned headset. The wind blowing into the little concave lifted the petals up into the air, only to let them fall again onto the stone. Roxas walked up beside me, staring wide eyed at the petals and headset.

"They took her." I declared softly. "They took Kaity."

* * *

"What?" I yelled, outraged. I jumped up from my seat. "No! We have to go after her now!"

After Roxas and I found the petals and headset, we called everyone in to meet at Merlin's house early. When everyone was there, Roxas and I told them what had happened. Then we went over some possible suspects. Someone who would have wanted to kidnap Kaity. Or where they could have taken her to. But I already knew all of the answers.

It was Marluxia. I don't know how he came back after Sora destroyed him, but it had to be him. Who else could make rose petals appear out of thin air? I don't know why they would want to take her. It doesn't make sense. Maybe they're just trying to set a trap for Sora again? I think they took her to Castle Oblivion, but I'm not sure about that. Maleficent seized their castle in The World That Never Was. But Castle Oblivion had been Marluxia's domain and if it's a trap for Sora, they wouldn't want to confuse him by going to a different location.

I knew all of this and I was so ready to go charging in to save Kaity's butt and kick some others. But then Riku said-

"No. We need to properly assess this and prepare for it. It would only cause more trouble if we go charging in unprepared." He said while moving to block me from running out the door.

"Why?" I snarled.

"If Marluxia is the one who took her, that could mean that any of the other Organization members could be back." He stated. "If one has come back, who knows how many more might be at Castle Oblivion. Besides that, Castle Oblivion is simply dangerous. If that's where they've taken her." He lowered his voice. "You should know that."

"But she's in trouble and she's my best friend!"

"That's another thing," Roxas spoke up from behind me. I turned to face him. He stared straight back into my fierce glare. "For whatever reason they took Kaity, they might want you as well. We don't know very much about you both, but you come from the same world."

I felt a hand lay gently on my shoulder. I turned my head to the side to see Sora's serious expression. "Be rational, Sam. Wait until we're ready to go and we're prepared to rescue her. They wanted her for a reason. They'll keep her alive."

"But for how long?" I hissed under my breath. I jerked my shoulder away from Sora's hand. My head hurt, my eyes hurt, and my heart hurt. The angry tears finally had it and began to slide down my cheeks. I turned and ducked around Riku to the door.

"We're leaving in the morning. But Roxas is right," I paused in front of the door. "For whatever reason they wanted her, they might want you too. For your safety, you're not coming with us."

The tears fell and the anger finally exploded. I screamed and punch the nearest bookcase with all of my strength. It fell over with a crash as I stormed out the door and into the rain that had started a few moments ago.

"Fine." I hissed into the night rain. I trudged down the street to the hotel. "If they won't go after her, then I will."


	19. To That Which is Lost

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter eighteen: To That Which is Lost

3:57 a.m.

Silence

Nothing was making a sound. Nothing was moving.

Except for the clock on the bedside table. The second hand ticked away, hardly uttering a noise.

It moved so damn slow.

I was laying on my bed, staring at the hand as it ticked its way in a circle on the clock. The moonlight that streamed through the crack in the curtains lit up the face of it. My eyes remain wide open... waiting...

The guys had mentioned that it would take around two or three hours to reach Castle Oblivion. They planned to leave at seven.

I planned to leave at five.

3:58 a.m.

I'm already set to leave. Before going to bed, I snuck into Sora and Roxas' room and stole a couple of potions and elixirs. I put them into my backpack, which is sitting in the lone chair against the wall by the balcony door. My bow is leaning up against it. I was ready to go. I just need to grab one more thing...

3:59 a.m.

The object will take a few minutes to get. Especially if I want to remain undetected. Then I will have to be extremely alert while I leave. Cloud, Leon, Yuffie, and Aeirth are on patrol at the moment. I've got to sneak around them. It shouldn't be that hard, but I have to expect the worst.

4:00 a.m.

I threw off the sheets covering me and slide off the bed to stand on my feet. I went to my bag and bow and slipped both on over my head. I was already dressed. Vest, boots, everything. I made sure the front door was locked before I unlocked the balcony door. I closed the door quietly behind me as I slipped into the chilly, windless night. It was so quiet tonight.

Silent as a mouse, I crept to the railing that led to Roxas and Sora's balcony and jumped from it to their railing. I tip-toed across the stone to the other side of their balcony. I climbed up on to the stone rail and swiftly jumped onto Riku's balcony railing. I slipped down to the stone floor and moved to stand in front of his door.

I stood there, lightly grasping the charm that hung around my neck. They'll know that I left the moment they start getting ready to leave. But... I feel like I should leave something behind. Something that will tell them that I'll be coming back.

I pulled the silver chain over my head, holding the charm in my hand. The blue gem glittered in the moonlight, turning it into a silvery hue. I took a deep breath, praying that his door was unlocked and turned the knob.

It was unlocked! I slipped inside the dark room, leaving the door open slightly for some light to see by. The moonlight outlined everything in the room in a pale silver glow. I moved warily around the objects in my way and made my way to Riku's bedside. I kept one eye on the steady rise and fall of the sleeping Riku's chest. When I reached his bedside, I averted my eyes from Riku to look at his bedside table. It has to be here somewhere...

_A-ha!_, I thought while opening the top drawer of the table. I reached in and grabbed the keys to the Gummi ship. I slipped them into a pocket in my shorts, careful not to make any noise with them. Holding my other hand up to the light, I looked one last time at my necklace before gently lying it in the place where the key had been. I shut the drawer and glanced at the clock on the table.

4: 18 a.m.

Quietly, I snuck back out of the room and closed the door behind me. I patted the pocket with the keys, to be sure that I had gotten them. I let out a heavy breath through my nose. That wasn't so hard. Now I just have to get to the Gummi ship. Fun, fun, fun.

I went to the edge of Riku's balcony and vaulted over the it like I had the other day. My landing wasn't very loud, thank God. I moved quickly to the nearest shadow. I have no clue where the others are or who is patrolling this region tonight. But I have to get moving. Sticking only to the shadows, I navigated my way through the maze of buildings to the Marketplace.

... ... ... ... ...

So far, so good. No one had caught me yet. Yuffie had appeared at one point, but she didn't see me hiding the shadow of crates. She had been talking to someone on her headset. She had already moved onto the Bailey, so no one else should be getting in my way.

I entered the Marketplace and ran straight through to the outskirts of town. The Gummi ship loomed up as I got closer. I pulled out the keys and unlocked the hatch. When I reached the control pit, I sat in the pilot chair and started the ship up. I double checked all the controls and statuses. The warp drive still wasn't working. Well, darn. I was hoping it was so that I could get there quicker, but Cid is way to slow a mechanic.

I buckled up and put in the coordinates for Castle Oblivion. I guess it was a good thing I watched the guys fly this thing. Or else I'd be screwed. The ship started to lift from off the ground and into the sky. My fear of flying was overruled by my determination to find Kaity. At least I could focus. I took a deep breath as I broke through the atmosphere and sped on into the space that stretched before me.

"Alright, Kaity," I muttered, "I'm coming. Just hold on a bit longer."

... ... ... ... ...

"What is taking him so long?" Roxas asked the air. "If he wants to leave before Sam wakes up, he needs to hurry the hell up." He said, leaning against the wall in the hallway of the hotel. He glance up at the clock. It was 6:45 a.m.

"Riku never takes this long..." Sora muttered. "He's usually the one getting us up." He stepped over to Riku's door. "Hey, Riku, hurry up! Sam will be up any minute!" He whispered loudly through the door.

A thundering crash answered him. Sora jumped back in surprise.

"_Damn her_!" A voice said from behind the door. Another crash followed.

"Uh, Riku?" Sora said startled. "What's going on?"

"_She stole the damn keys_!" Riku shouted angrily from the other side of the door.

The door flew open and banged into the wall inside the room. Sora jumped back into the wall behind him. Riku angrily stormed out into the hallway, his eyes promising murder. A silver chain necklace with a moon charm was clutched tightly in his right hand. Riku shoved it into Roxas and Sora's face's.

"If she doesn't get killed by them, I'm going to kill her when she gets back." He bit out through clenched teeth. Then he turned and stormed down the hall to the stairs.

Sora and Roxas glanced at one another. "_What_?"

... ... ... ... ...

Sighing, I switched the ship onto autopilot and unbuckled. The heartless and nobodies finally stopped attacking the ship. I was starting to get really motion sick. I got out of the chair and stretched my legs. I was almost there. Just another few minutes. I guess it would be a good idea to start thinking of a plan. I laughed nervously to myself and took my sketch pad and a pencil out of my bag and started writing down some ideas of what to do.

... ... ... ... ...

The door to Merlin's house flew open with a bang, causing everyone to jump.

"Whoa!" Cid shouted, turning around in his chair. "What in the name Minerva is going on?"

Riku was already storming in, making his way across the room. Sora and Roxas followed, both with mirrored expressions of worry and disbelief.

"Riku," Leon said from where he stood by the computer. "I thought you all would have left by now." Riku ignored him and stomped straight up to Cid.

"Cid, open up a video link to the Gummi ship." Riku said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, sure." Cid muttered turning back to the computer. "No need for manners. Just go ahead and tell me what to do."

"Sorry." Sora apologized. "Riku's a little temperamental right now."

"Sam's taken off after Kaity all by herself," Roxas added, "She's put herself and Kaity in danger. He has a reason to be angry." He looked at Sora.

"Well, yeah," Sora said. "That's not what I meant-"

"We're connected." Cid interrupted. "Just push this button when you're ready to talk." He moved his chair out of the way for Riku.

Riku stood in front of the computer, anger still present in his eyes. He slammed his hand onto the button.

... ... ... ... ...

So, I think I have a plan. Well, most of one at least. Hopefully they aren't holding her in the lower levels of the castle. I'm basing this plan on what I know about Marluxia from _Chain of Memories_. All I really had to worry about was losing my memories, the castle screwing with my head, and being caught. If none of that happens, I'll have a home run!

"_SAM_!"

I jumped and screamed, causing my notebook to crash onto the ground. As fast as I could, I rolled out of my seat and scampered behind the chair, out of sight. I'm about to charge in and face the worst danger I've ever had to deal with, and I'm hiding from an angry Riku. If you were in my position, You'd be hiding too.

Maybe he'll just go away...

"_I know your there._" Riku growled. Oh my... He's really angry.

I completely forgot about the video chat thing that Cid installed. Why hadn't I remembered that? I could have disabled it! And then he wouldn't be able to yell at me. I whimpered from behind the chair. An angry Riku is something I never wanted to encounter.

"_Sam_!"

Closing my eyes shut briefly, I opened them and turned around. I put my hands on the top of the chair and rose just enough that I was able to peek over the edge. Boiling aqua eyes glared down at me from the monitor. I could practically feel them murdering me on the spot.

...Crap.

I pushed myself up a bit more so that my head was visible. "Hey, Riku," I said with a small smile and wave. "What's up?"

"_You're sitting in the Gummi ship, that you stole, on your way to Castle Oblivion and your asking me 'What's up'?_" Riku hissed through his teeth.

"Alright," I said while standing up behind the chair. "Number one, I _barrowed_ the Gummi Ship. I didn't steal it. Number two, I'm almost at Castle Oblivion. Where as you are still in Radiant Garden and probably still would be if I hadn't gone on ahead."

"_You left by yourself!"_

"You were going to leave me behind!"

_"Because it's too dangerous for you!_" He countered, frustrated. "_You just learned how to fight and you're not even very good at it!_"

He was starting to get me worked up. Frustration was boiling through my veins now. "You don't know everything about me, Riku." I hissed at him. "You may think that you do, but you don't. You've underestimated me. Since you have, that means Marluxia will too."

"_Sam, you_-"

"Goodbye, Riku." I said firmly, walking over to the control panel. "I'll be back to  
Radiant Garden before the day is gone." I looked him dead in the eyes. "_With_ Kaity." Then I pushed the button to end the transmission. In a spout of annoyance, I gripped the stupid knob button thing and pulled it out. The wires sizzled and the screen flashed blue before disappearing. Let's see them try and contact me know.

I sat in the pilot's chair as the anger left me. I already know that I'm in way over my head. I don't need him telling me that. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my head in them. I groaned and gently massaged my temples. Every time I get mad or upset now, my head starts to throb and my eyes ache. It's so weird. This never happened to me before I came to this universe. I calmed myself down, breathing slowly in and out of my nose.

A beeping sound drew me out of my thoughts. I stood back up and looked at the monitor before looking up through the glass dome. A strange, but familiar white castle was looming up in the distance. It was Castle Oblivion. I made it.

Now what do I do?

... ... ... ... ...

"Why can't you reestablish the connection?" Riku asked annoyed.

"She's messed with the connection on her end." Cid snapped at him. "If she sabotaged it, I'm gonna kill her."

"Hmph, you and me both." Riku muttered.

"I'm sorry to rain on your parade," Sora said from across the room. "But neither of you will get the chance."

"Yeah," Roxas spoke up from his spot on the ground by the door. "Marluxia's going to get there first."

"Whoever this guy is, he sounds dangerous and way out of Sam's league." Sora added. "If he ends up killing her, what are we going to do about our quest? I'm not going to go up to the king to tell him that we lost a part of the key to saving the universe. Sorry, no way."

"Then I guess this will be a test then." Riku sighed, leaning against a wall. "If she is truly the one the king thinks she is, then Kingdom Hearts will make sure she prevails."


	20. The White Prison

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: The White Prison

White.

Everything is white.

I never really liked the color white. It's just so _clean_. Besides, it's not even really a color. It's a hue produced by the reflection of all the rays of the solar spectrum. Yes, I do know the meaning of the color white. I'm an artist, I just know these things. But why white? Of all the colors they had to choose from, they picked the one that's the hardest to take care of. One spill of some colored drink and everything's ruined. They should have just made the walls clear. Then perhaps I'd be able to figure out what floor Kaity is supposed to be on. Anything would be helpful because, guess what,...

I'm lost!

I'm lost in Castle Oblivion. Where to find is to lose and to lose is to find.

...How typical.

My being lost isn't what's really bothering me though... Kaity was kidnapped by Marluxia and, I'm assuming that if he's back, other Organization members have returned as well. Which is just perfect. All of Sora's hard work gone to nothing. But if they're really back, where are they? I've been here for hours and haven't seen anyone. I walked through the front door! What could be more obvious? I thought that they had cameras put up throughout the castle. I even saw one of them when I came in! They would have seen me by now. So... where are they? Why haven't they come out?

As I questioned this, I made my way across the third floor hallway to the next door. This place is really strange. I mean, it's a land that's lost to oblivion, so it's going to be a weird place, but it really mess's with your head. I had always thought that the reason why the castle was so confusing was because of Namine. She was the one who tore apart your memories and played with your head. But I guess that's not the case. It's the castle that really screws with your sense of direction.

I stopped in front of the big golden door at the end of the hall. Normally, I would have needed a card to open the door, but a lot has changed since the Organization had been here. Placing my hands on the door, I pushed forward with all my might. The golden doors began to open. I stopped pushing when there was a crack wide enough for me to squeeze through. The room I slipped into was just like the other two I had already navigated through.

Before me stretched a maze of white hallways. At the end would be the door to the fourth floor. I groaned and started trekking my way through the labyrinth. What is up with these maze's? If I keep going at this rate, I'll never get to Kaity. It took me three hours to get through the other floors. This one will take up another hour and then who knows how many after that. By then, something horrible could've happen to her. But I won't allow that. I have to find her.

Uncapping the red marker I found in my bag, I took off at a sprint, turning at every corner I reached. As I passed the corner, I whipped out my had with the marker and let it skim against the wall, leaving behind a bright red mark. Doing this made it a heck of a lot easier to navigate the halls.

I had been running for about ten minutes when I saw him.

I was just about to turn into another hallway when I saw a blur of dark colors fly across the opposite end of the hall. I skidded to a halt and stared at the spot I had seen the blur. _Who could that have been..._, I thought. Unless it was one of the Organization, there was no one else in this castle. At least, I didn't think there was. Turning away from the hall, I took off after whoever it was running around.

I didn't see him again for a few minutes. When I did see him, I caught him running around another corner into a different hallway. "Hey!" I called as I followed him. "Stop!"

He didn't stop though. _Is he deaf?_, I thought annoyed. "Hey, you! Wait! I need to talk to you!" But he kept running. What the hell? "I said HALT!"

I guess he heard me that time, because he finally stopped. I hadn't expected him to actually hear me, so I was still running full speed at him. I was going to hit him! I tried to stop, but couldn't. I shut my eyes and prepared to run into him but I didn't.

Instead I tripped and tumbled across the ground, sliding across the white floor. I moaned and opened my eyes. That hurt. Pushing myself up, I looked back at the boy. He was still standing in the same place he had stopped in. I stared at him confused. Why didn't I crash into him? I was barreling straight for him...

The boy didn't move. He just stared at me curiously. Or... at least I think he was. His eyes were covered by the hood of the short sleeved jacket he was wearing. I could only see the half of his face below his eyes along with a few strands of blonde hair that were poking out underneath the hood. I didn't recognize him at all. Not even by his outfit, which was a mix of black, gold, dark green-gray, and a nice cream color. He was wearing a jacket much like Sora and Roxas' jackets, but his was white on the right side and black on the left side.

Underneath the jacket, it looked like he was wearing a grey vest and a high-necked, black shirt. On his left shoulder was a chunk of dull green and grey armor. He was also wearing a pair of capri pants and a pair of shoes similar to Sora's, but colored a dull grey and green. The thing that attracted my attention though was the strange silver emblem that rested on two criss-crossing straps on his chest. It looked like a upside down version of the Organization XIII emblem.

Annoyed, I stood up and faced the strange boy. Yes, he's taller than I am, but he had this aura about him that was like a boys. "Thanks for finally stopping." I bit out.

The boy smirked. "Sorry, I didn't hear you at first." His voice sounded really familiar... but strange too. It kind of sounded like a echo, but without the echo. "There usually aren't very many people roaming around these halls."

"Yeah... I know." I said as I looked him over again. "So...who are you?"

"Who are you?" He asked back, warily.

"I asked first." I'm really getting annoyed by this guy.

"So? I asked second." He crossed his arms.

I don't have time for this! "Fine! My name is Sam and I really don't have time to play any of your games!" I snapped.

He unfolded his arms. "Well, It's nice to meet you, Sam. I would return the gesture, but I don't know who I am."

What? "What do you mean?" I asked warily.

"I mean, I don't know my name." The boy said sadly. "Or anything else about me. I don't even know how I ended up in this castle. All I know is that I'm looking for something that I can't find."

That makes two of us. "What are you looking for?" I asked. "Maybe I can help."

"That's really nice for you to offer your help, but I've been searching this castle for ten years." He said with a sad smile. "And I'm no closer to finding it then I was when I started."

Ten years? Wow. That's really sad. But he doesn't look that old. He looks like he'd be my age. "You can still tell me what you're looking for."

"My body." The boy said.

..."Come again?" I said taken aback.

His lips twitched up at my reaction. "Ten years ago, I fell into something like a coma and my spirit detached itself and woke up in one of these hallways."

"So... you're a spirit?" I said, skeptically folding my arms.

He took a step forward and made a grab for my shoulder, but instead swiped through the whole upper half of my body. I gasped and stumbled backward, staring wide eyed at his hand. That was so creepy! "Oh my God." I breathed, looking back up at his covered eyes.

"Yeah." He sighed. "So, what are you doing here?"

Once my heart rate slowed, I registered what he said and composed myself. "I'm looking for my friend. A girl with short blonde hair." I told the boy. "She was kidnapped and I think that whoever took her brought her here."

"A girl with short blonde hair?" He echoed thoughtfully.

"Yes, have you seen her?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I have actually." Yes! I knew she was here! "Some men brought her into this castle sometime yesterday. She stopped screaming her lungs out at them about an hour ago."

"Thank God!" I sighed. She's okay. That's what matters. "Do you know where they're holding her?"

"The thirteenth floor. In a small white room." He answered assertively. "Do you what help getting there? I know a short cut you could use. It's not the safest, but it's quicker then navigating these rooms."

A short cut? "Sure." I said. Whatever can get me to Kaity faster.

"Alright, follow me." The boy turned around and started down the hall. I jogged to keep up with him. Stupid boys and their long legs. Keeping up with him is like trying to keep up with the guys.

We walked in silence for awhile. But curiosity opened my mouth.

"So... you don't remember anything from your past? At all?"

The boy was silent. "I guess I should say that I don't remember most of my past." He said slowly. "Every now and then I'll get...flashbacks of what I think are memories of my past. But none of it ever makes any sense."

"How did you become a spirit? Or go into a coma?"

He glance at me. "I lost my heart." He said. "Or... at least that's what I've come to think. From what memories I can put together, my heart seemed to just break rather then got stolen by the darkness. I don't really know..." His pace slowed a bit. "but..." He muttered. "... even though I'm looking for my body so that I can finally wake up... I feel like someone is already trying to do that. She said that she would come back."

She? Who is he talking about? "Who?"

The boy looked up at me like he just realized I was there. He shook his head and started walking again. I hadn't even notice we had stopped. "I don't remember."

I didn't push the subject anymore. It wasn't my business to know anything about him. But... I wanted to. I felt like... I could help him. That I could find his heart and body and wake him up...

I shook my head at the thought. That's crazy. Who am I kidding? I could never do that. No matter how much I wanted to help him. I'm not even supposed to be here. All I can do is hope that whoever promised to come back for him hasn't forgotten their promise.

After a few more minutes, we came upon a door at the end of a hallway. The boy stopped in front of it and turned to me. "This short cut is not like a staircase to the top of the castle." He explained. "In this room, the castle will judge you by looking into your soul and deciding if you are worthy. It's kind of like a test. Only one or two people have ever found this room. Others who have heard of it were too scared to try."

Well that's reassuring. "What happens to me if I don't pass the test?" I asked warily.

"I think the castle chucks you through the roof." He smiled

How pleasant. Murder by castle. But I have no other choice. "Alright, I'll take it."

The boy smirked and touched the door. When his fingers tapped the surface, a dull glow washed over the panel. He pulled his hand away and gestured for me to go in. I stepped up to the door. At a thought, I looked over my shoulder at the boy.

"Thank you..." I said politely

But there was no one there.

Turning back to the door, I took a deep breath and pushed it open.

The room was unlike any other room in the castle. It was completely made of mirrors and only mirrors. I warily walked into the room. Behind me, the door slammed shut, causing me to jump and shriek. When I looked back to the door, all I saw was more mirror. Actually, I couldn't remember which wall I had even come through. Great, now there's no way out. What now?

I stood in the middle of the room, waiting for something to happen. Anything. But nothing did. This was getting me nowhere! I'm never going to find Kaity. That boy probably tricked me and is now laughing his butt off somewhere. Frustrated beyond belief, I looked into the mirror in front of me to see my reflection staring back.

Except my reflection didn't look frustrated. It looked happy. Then my reflection waved at me.

"Holy Crap!" I exclaimed, jumping back into the mirror behind me.

_"Careful now, Don't break me." _My reflection scolded.

Although it was me in the mirror, it wasn't my voice coming from it. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. I stared wide eyed at my reflection, completely flipped out. The room filled with a tense silence as we stared at one another.

Hey, if your reflection started talking to you, you'd freak out too.

_"You could say something." _She said, annoyed.

"Uh... hi?" I quivered out. I can't believe I'm talking to my reflection.

_"It's a start."_ She sighed. _"If you don't know, this is the Room of Reflection."_ She gestured to the surrounding room. _"It's purpose is to look into the deepest parts of your heart and soul to judge if you are worthy to obtain what you wish to know,"_ She smirked. _"Or if you are to be flung out of the tallest tower."_

"Um, okay." I said. What does it mean by 'what I wish to know'? I just want to get to the thirteenth floor! But... is this room seriously giving me the chance to ask any question I want?

_"Yes, just ask any question you want."_ She said, confirming my thoughts. _"After you ask your question, look to your soul. If you deserve an answer, I will give you one and the room will take you to the floor you wish to go to."_

Look to my soul? She must mean that I have to look into my eyes. Your eyes are the reflection of your soul, after all. But what question should I ask? I have a ton of them! Like, why are Kaity and I here? How do we get back home? What am I supposed to do to save Kaity? Who was that boy? How many more Organization members have returned? There's just too many! But... there is just one question that's been nagging at me... one that just keeps cropping up in my thoughts...

I looked at my reflection. "After my awakening, as I was drowning in the darkness... I heard a voice say something as I was being pulled under..." Nervousness was creeping into my voice. "It said something about me ending a war..." I wasn't asking how to end it. What I really wanted to know was how to prevent it. If I know what cause's it, maybe I could stop it before it starts.

"My question is, what is being fought over in this war? Why are they fighting for it?" When I was finished, I looked directly into the reflection of my eyes. Green looking into green. A few moments passed before she said something.

_Your heart and soul are... difficult to read._ The voice wasn't coming from my reflection now. It sounded like the voice was talking inside of my head. _There are so many fortifications guarding them...but...I sense nearly all of them are around your heart. They're...tricky to infiltrate._

_Behind the walls...it's cloudy._ The voice grew gloomy._ Shadowed. Like the darkness before a storm. And yes... there's darkness in your heart...lingering on the edge...waiting for the right moment to take over. It circles your heart, like a tempest, longing to pour out it's dark rain. But... there is a light in the eye of the storm. Bright and beautiful, battling endlessly against the growing darkness._ She sighed in sympathy. _You walk a dangerous road, Samantha. One many have tread and few have survived. But there is something different about you... something that is in your heart. Whatever it is, it reassures your soul. It's too strong for me to see... _

After she said that, my eyes began to burn. It felt like they were being stabbed by burning needles repeatedly. I covered my eyes in agony.

_Just remember, my dear. There are something's that just cannot be changed..._

The pain intensified until it hurt to have my hands resting over them. When I opened my eyes and looked into my reflection, my hands flew to my mouth muffling my scream. My eyes were no longer green, but a bright liquid gold. Around my eyes was blood. I pulled my hands away from my mouth to see them covered in blood as well.

"What's happening?" I cried.

As I watched my reflection, more blood leaked from my eyes. They were like tears. One of the blood tears slid down my cheek and dripped on to the reflective ground. I watched it fall. When the drop touched the mirror, the reflective surface rippled. Like a pond of water. The blood immersed into the mirror and swelled, rippling endlessly across the ground. Spreading over the ground and up the walls. When every spot of mirror was covered in my blood, the walls stilled.

"What the hell?" I whispered.

Tentatively, I touched the wall closest to me. I no more than grazed my finger over the surface when a earsplitting "crack" resonated in the room. Snapping my hand back to my side, I watched as a dark liquid began to spill from the fissure I made. Fast. What's worse is that the fissure expanded. winding its way up to the roof. The liquid began to rain from the roof and pour faster from the wall. The smell of blood slammed into my scent glands, choking me. I went into a round of coughing as the crack still expanded across the roof. It was going to collapse.

"Oh, no..." I gasped just before the ceiling collapsed and blood fell into the room like a water fall. I screamed as the sticky substance swirled around me. I struggled to keep myself above the tide. My hair was plastered to my head and neck and my clothes were soiled with it. "Help!" I screamed as I went under the tide. I pushed up and gasped for breath. The walls around me cracked and shattered. Then a ocean of blood washed over my head, drowning out my screams.

_You wanted to know, you wanted an answer..._

I squeezed my eyes shut as they began to sear with pain again. I was drowning. I couldn't breathe. But when I closed my eyes, I didn't see darkness. Instead I began to see bright flashes of images. And I could breathe now. Even in my panicked state, I made myself focus on the vision.

I saw an image of a barren world. A wasteland with rocky cliffs and dusty air. There was no life there. All there was were Keyblades. Thousands upon thousands of Keyblades. Then over the horizon, dark shadows began to move across the ground.

_They fight for control._

Faces flashed in front of me. Figures clad in black and blue and red. Golden eyes slid into my vision and were gone just as fast. A guy, no older then eighteen, with dark hair and eyes the color of the Caspian sea. He stood on a cliff. Watching...waiting...

I gasped as at a sharp pain in my head.

_They fight for balance._

More faces. Familiar faces. Everyone clad in battle gear. Determination glittering in their eyes. An unfamiliar face, filled with sorrow and anger. Perilous blue eyes. Keyblades, glittering in the hostile sun. A knowing look. Praying...hoping...

_They will rise where many have fallen._

The sounds of clashing metal. Pain. Anger. Loss. It's what they want... It's what's rightly theirs...

_They fight for the Kingdom of Kingdoms._

Darkness. Panting breaths. Running footfalls. Panic. Worry. Pain. A sudden light... the battle...

_They fight for the Key to the Door._

A blinding flash. The warmth of light. The clash of weapons. Yells. Darkness. And then...

Peace.

_They fight for you._

...

When consciousness came back to me, I began wishing it hadn't. My eyes still burned. But not as bad as before. They felt like I had looked into the sun for way too long without blinking. When I opened them, all I saw was darkness and a thin strand of light. Pushing myself to my feet, I stumbled toward the light. Knowing that it would be the way out. The light was a crack in a door. Light flooded my vision as I pushed it open. Walking through it, I blinked and looked around to find myself in another hallway of Castle Oblivion. On the columns of the hallway was the numeral 'XIII'.

I was on the thirteenth floor. Groaning, I lifted my hands to my eyes and gently rubbed them. When I pulled my hands away, I thought about how my eyes ha turned gold. I spotted a vase in the hall. I walked over to it and looked at my reflection. There was no evidence of what had happen in that room. No blood. No gold eyes. But... that sure was something. There are no words to describe what just happened. It's no wonder why it was never in any of the games. It's like a torture chamber. When I see that boy again, I'm going rip his lungs out.

Yes, the room was horrible, but it did hold true to its word and answer my question. Those images... that war...

I didn't recognize the world. I'd never seen it in any of the games. And the guys that we were fighting against. I didn't recognize any of them ether. What I do know is that the darkness and terror was real. Very real. And then the peace at the end. Now that was something I'd never felt before.

_They fight for you._..

I shook my head. I'll have time to think about all of that later. Right now, I need to focus on helping Kaity. I saw the door at the end of the hall and headed towards it.


	21. We're in Trouble

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter twenty: We're in Trouble

The thirteenth floor was unlike the other floors. The first three floors I went through were labyrinths, twisting and turning hallways with no end. But that's not what this floor was.

After I went through the door, I stepped into a _long_ hallway with about twenty doors stationed on either side of the hall. I stood just inside the doorway, staring at all the doors in bewilderment. How am I supposed to know which one Kaity's behind? And how am I supposed to know where the bad guys are? I could open any one of these doors and run into an Organization member.

Cautiously, I walked up to the first door and placed my ear upon it. I listened for a moment, straining to hear any noise through the cold paneled door. I didn't hear anything, so I opened it.

Cracking it open just enough to poke my head in, I found out that it was a bedroom. _Well, at least they sleep_, I though absently. Closing it quietly, I made my way down the hall, first listening then opening each door.

The second door was another bedroom and the third door was a bathroom. I found a cleaning closet, a small sitting room, and another bedroom further down the hall. I was just about to open another one when I heard the voices.

I paused and looked over to my right, staring at the spot the noise was coming from. There was someone further down the hall speaking. But as I listened, more voices joined with the first. It sounded like a serious conversation. One that I should probably be eavesdropping on.

As silent as I could possibly be, I crept down the hall toward the voices. When I drew closer, I began to recognize some of the voices. I started moving faster. Halfway down the hall, I spotted a door that was cracked open near the end of the hall. Stepping lightly, I went up to the door and pressed myself against the wall beside the door. This way, I won't cast a shadow and let them know I'm out here. Carefully, I peeked through the crack into the room beyond.

On the other side of the door was the control room for all of the camera's stationed throughout the castle. Fifteen or twenty monitor screens pictured various rooms in the castle. Every ten seconds, the screens would blink and show a different room from another camera. I maneuvered my head to see more of the room.

At first I didn't know what to think. My first reaction was surprise, my hand flying up to my mouth to muffle my gasp.

It was Axel! Axel was here!

He was there, sitting in front of the monitors, watching them closely. Like he was waiting for something to happen on the screens. When the surprise passed, confusion wove its way onto my face. There was something... different about him. He wasn't the Axel I remember from the game. His hair's shorter and he's not wearing a organization cloak. Instead he was wearing a pair of dark leather pants, red and white shoes, a orange sleeveless vest covered in zippers and a red and white scarf tied around his neck. He looked younger as well... If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this wasn't Axel. But... who else could it be?

"Have you found her yet?"

I angled my head to see who spoke. It was another familiar voice. And there, standing a few feet from the Axel look-alike was a spiky, blue haired guy that looked a lot like a younger version of Saix. He wasn't wearing a Organization cloak ether. Instead, he was wearing a dark gray coat with short sleeves and a pair of white pants with black shoes. There was some sort of emblem on his chest, but I couldn't see it from where I was standing. What is up with everyone's appearance's? Why are they dress so weird?

The Saix look-alike was leaning against the wall near the monitors. He looked frustrated, standing there with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest. The Axel look-alike hit a couple buttons before answering him.

"Now, if I had found her, don't you think I would have told you?" He said mockingly.

The Saix look-alike opened and narrowed his eyes at him. "This is no time to be cocky. How long has she been off screen?"

"A few hours."

A few hours? How long had I been in the Room of Reflection?

The Saix look-alike pushed away from the wall and turned to face the many monitors. "That idiotic spirit did something to hide her from us." He said irritated. His eyes carefully examined the screens.

"Not to interrupt your search and detain project," Said a voice from the opposite side of the room, "but what is our progress with the other girl?" I tried to angle my head to see who spoke, but the crack was too thin. It didn't matter though. I recognized this voice as well.

It was Marluxia.

The one who kidnapped Kaity.

It took everything I had not to charge in and choke the life out of him. Clenching my teeth together, I turned to stare at the wall across from me. I closed my eyes and focused on their conversation. No matter how much I wanted to beat the crap out of him, I had to pay attention.

"Terribly." The Saix look-alike sighed, aggravated. "We're getting nowhere with her. She refuses to cooperate with us. She is still denying that she has the powers of the Witch and that she can't do what we are asking. Time is growing short and so are my patience with her."

Power's? What power's? And what Witch is he talking about? Wait... a Witch? Does he mean Namine?

Oh my God...

Marluxia chuckled. "How infuriating. A hostage that won't listen to her kidnappers."

I imagined the daggers the Saix look-alike was sending at Marluxia's pink head.

It was silent for a moment before the Axel look-alike sighed, annoyed. "Isa, we have the wrong girl." He stated bluntly.

Another moment of silence followed. "What have you been think about that would lead you to say such a thing?" Isa, the Saix look-alike, said impassively.

"Ienzo," The Axel look-alike said. "Explain what you've discovered."

Opening my eyes, I looked back through the crack in the door to see a kid with slate gray hair step into view. I had to hold back another gasp of exclamation.

It was Zexion!

But, it wasn't. Again. This kid looked exactly like a eleven or twelve year old Zexion would look like, but how could it be him? Zexion looked at least eighteen or nineteen years old. Something is going on here...

"When the girl entered the castle, I noticed something significantly different about her." Ienzo, the Zexion look-alike, explained quietly. "Her scent has changed."

My scent? Ew! Why's he smelling me?

"Changed? Changed how?" Isa questioned.

"Yesterday, when we had been in Radiant Garden, you told me to point out the girl with the most darkness in their heart." Ienzo said. "Because that girl would be the other of the Witch. But I failed to tell this, for both of their hearts had a _exact_ balance of light and darkness. Which isn't customary, at all. No heart has a equal balance of light and darkness. Especially two like that. So I suggested that there had to be a spell on them to hide their true hearts."

"Yes, yes." Isa said impatiently. "You already went through this."

"What I'm trying to clarify, is that whatever was preventing me from sensing that darkness is gone."

"Gone?" Marluxia said. "What would have made it dissipate?"

Obviously, I don't know what was blocking me before or else I'd be able to know how it disappeared so quickly." Ienzo patronized.

"What are you getting from the girl now?" Isa asked.

"Darkness." Ienzo stated. "More darkness then any ordinary heart would contain. _Could_ contain. It's astonishing that she hasn't been turned over to the darkness, yet. However... there is a light in her heart. It's blinding... brighter than even Sora's, but it's notably smaller."

"Then we have the wrong girl." Isa said. "How irritating."

"Would you like for me to dispose of the other girl?" Marluxia asked.

What? Kill Kaity? Shocked, I backed away from the door.

"No." Isa declared. "We'll keep her until we capture the other girl. She will be the bait. Go scour the halls. We need that girl, before he comes back and discovers our mistake."

Footsteps headed toward the door. Panicked, I swerved my head around, spotting the door across the hall. I grabbed the handle, yanking it open before throwing myself inside and shutting the door behind me. I backed up hastily into a shelving structure, knocking over some bottles and kicking something metallic. It was dark in the little room, but before I had closed the door, I had seen that it was another cleaning closet. I stayed silent and unmoving as I heard the door of the control room open and close. The footsteps walked down the hall. Then another door opened and they disappeared.

I breathed out and finally collapsed onto the ground. My knees had given out from dread and shock. This is so screwed up. The guys in there looked like Saix, Axel, and Zexion, but that's not who they are. They're nothing like them, but... then who could they be? Even their names... I don't know any Isa or Ienzo from the games.

Then there's Kaity... God, what am I going to do? They're after me, not her! I cursed myself. Why? Why did I come alone? I should've just waited for the guys. Now I've walked right into their hands! But what's done, is done. I'm here, so I have to figure out how to get Kaity and I out of here in one piece. I just need to get to her, free her, and then get us out of here.

I took a couple minutes to rest and get my thoughts straightened out. If I charge around the castle like a blundering idiot, they'll catch me for sure. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and went to the door, listening for movement. When I didn't hear anything, I opened the door and warily stepped into the hall. There was no one anywhere in the hall and the door to the control room was closed now. Silently, I hastily went from door to door like I had been before. When I opened the seventh door, I poked my head in and saw what I had been looking for this whole time.

"Sam!"

Kaity looked at me with wide eyes, filled with relief. She was sitting in Namine's chair, pushed up against the glassy white table in the center of the room. Her hands were unbound, but her legs were tied to the front two legs of the chair by thick, leafy vines. I slipped into the room and shut the door.

"Kaity," I smiled happily. "Thank God, you're okay."

"Sam, you idiot!" She yelled crossly from her seat, all relief gone from her eyes. "Did you turn off your brain or something? I've been trying to open our psyche connection for hours!"

My face twisted until it looked like I had suddenly run into an invisible wall. Then I smacked my face with the palm of my hand. How could I have been so stupid? I forgot about that entirely! That explains why I've been having that annoying ache in the back of my head since I got here.

"Never mind that," I said annoyed with myself. I began walking towards her. "We have to get out of here." I got to her and bent so that I was level with her bindings. I grabbed one of the vines and pulled it back with a yelp when one of the thorns pierced me.

"I've been trying to cut them off for hours." Kaity said looking down at the plants. "But my metal can't cut through them, no matter how sharp I make it."

"If they can't be cut, then I'll just have to fry them." I muttered. I took a deep breath and channeled the electric waves to the tips of my fingers. Static crackled between my fingers as I open and closed them. Smirking, I touched a spot on each vine binding and watched as they turned black and disintegrate into ash's.

I straightened and backed away as Kaity stood and stretched. "Much better." She sighed contently. "So, where are the guys?"

I glanced over my shoulder. "Um..."

"Sam," She said, her voice hard. "Please tell me you didn't come alone."

"Why does it matter?" I said hesitantly.

Kaity stared at me with a disbelieving fury in her eyes. "Sam! You numb skull! They're after _you_! Not me! Why did you come without the guys?"

"They were going to leave me behind!" I yelled back at her. "No one would even be here right now if I hadn't come. By the time the guys would have gotten here, you would've been casted off into the darkness!"

"What? Why?"

"This Zexion look-alike guy, Ienzo, found out that you weren't the one they needed and told the other bad guys." I explained. "They know that I'm in the castle and just sent out a search party for me. After they found me, they were going to kill you!"

Then a thought struck me. Fear rising in my throat, I spun around, scanning the roof and walls of the room. Then I spotted what I had been searching for. Crap! "There's a video camera in here. They'll have seen me come in here and free you. We have to leave. Now!"

Kaity and I turned to run out of the white room, but before we could take a step, the door opened and five figures walked into the room. My heart jumped into my throat as they lined up, blocking our only way out.

Isa, Ienzo, and the Axel look-alike were in the line, but there were too other figures that I didn't recognize. Well, I sort of recognized one of them and seeing how the other three look like other Organization members, but really aren't, it would make sense that he didn't look the same either. At the end of the line, on the right, was a tall man with layered, shoulder length light brown hair. His face and figure was more feminine then masculine. My eyes brightened in realization.

It was Marluxia.

But... it wasn't... He has pink hair, not brown. What's going on here?

I turned my eyes to the guy standing in the center of the line. I didn't recognize him at all. He was a boy, not much older than me. Sixteen? Seventeen? He was tall; six feet at the most. He had dark brown hair, almost black, that swept to the left side of his head and spiked up slightly. His skin was a light tan, and he was built like a athlete. Someone who works out a lot. I stared at him as he met my eyes. My breath caught in my lungs. His eyes... they were so blue... like the sea...

The boy smirked, pulling me from my thoughts. Taking in the odds, I grasped my bow and pulled it over my head and held it before me. I transformed it and prepared to fire. Kaity took that as a signal and transform her gloves. It's five against two. How are we supposed to get away from this?

"My, my..." The boy said, taking a couple steps toward us. "How convenient. Now I don't have to hunt you down myself, little Witch." His voice was alluring, carrying a accent I didn't recognize.

With every step he took forward, Kaity and I took backwards. "Sorry to spoil it for you." I snipped at him.

The boy turned his eyes to Kaity, who was standing beside me. "It seems that these idiots brought you here for no reason. You're not the one I ordered them to capture. But... that still raises' the question of who you are."

Kaity scoffed. "Like I'd tell you."

The side of his mouth twitched. His eyes turned back to me. "Why don't we make this easy. Come with us and all of this trouble can be spared."

"And If I don't?" I said.

"We'll obliterate your friend into darkness." He leered.

Okay, that's sadistic. I felt Kaity take a step back and half hide herself behind me. I guess that freaked her out. I raised my bow so that it was level with the guys face. "Who the hell are you people?"

The boy grinned and gestured to himself. "I am Divan," He said. "And these are my Heartless companions."

Wait... what?

Taken aback, I looked at the figures on either side of him and did a double- take. There, on the front of each of their chests was the Heartless emblem. My eyes widened and my mouth gapped open. They were human formed Heartless! No wonder they look like Axel, Saix, Zexion, and Marluxia. They're their Heartless counterparts!

I so didn't see that one coming.

"What..." I muttered. I couldn't speak, I was so stunned. But this guy, Divan, didn't have a Heartless emblem. So who is he?

Divan seemed to be a bit apprehensive with my reaction. "You didn't know about them? Or myself?" He questioned before scoffing. "It seems that the master has over-estimated your knowledge. Let me introduce you to them." Divan turned his eyes to the figure standing on the far left. "There is Isa," he said gesturing to the Saix look-alike, "Lea," he pointed to the Axel look-alike, "Ienzo," the kid on the right side, "and Rauliam," the man on the end.

Isa, Lea, Ienzo, and Rauliam... all these names are anagrams from the names of their Nobody counterparts. Could these have been the real names of their original selves? and master? What master? Who is this guy? God, this is too much and its distracting me from finding an escape. This is defiantly something to think about later, but right now, I've got to get Kaity and I out of here. Okay, a plan. I need a plan...

I closed my mouth and narrowed my eyes at Divan. "Why do you want me? and what do you mean by over-estimating my knowledge?" I bit out. At the same time, I was opening the link between Kaity and I.

_Kaity, listen up. I've got a plan..._

But something changed. It was like... the room was getting smaller, even though the walls stayed were they were. A ominous look had come over Divan's face as he took another step towards us. His eyes were hard with suspicion. Crap, did he see something on our face's? I felt Kaity move away from me and back up into the wall on the other side of the room. Hopefully I didn't ask her to do something she can't do. The others behind Divan began to spread out along the room, creating a larger circle, slowly pushing us back.

"Now... why should I tell you?" Divan said slowly. He was still moving toward me. Crap, crap, crap...

I backed up, stumbling over my own feet. He was really starting to scare me. Darkness was shimmering around him like an aura. My eyes went to the spot where his heart is. For some reason... I could sense it. I could feel it beating inside his chest. But it no longer ran on the life blood of his body. No... it pulsated from the darkness that flowed through it. My eyes snapped to his, filled with alarm. This is bad. Very, very bad.

I stopped backing up when I was a few feet from Kaity. I wanted to keep moving away from him, but I couldn't. My bow was still out in front of me, but my panic was making my hands shake. Divan kept coming closer and the Heartless were almost completely incasing us. I couldn't make my hand pull back the string of the bow. I shut my eyes tight as my eyes started to blur with tears from my fear. What's wrong with me? I've never felt this scared or weak in my life!

My eyes snapped open and rested on Divan. _It's him..._, I thought surprised. The darkness that he was giving off was affecting me. I could feel it slithering over my skin now. Trying to look for a way into my heart. To my darkness.

Divan reached were I was standing and pushed down my bow until my arms were hanging down in front of me. He saw the renewed terror in my face from my realization and smirked. He raised his right hand and cupped my chin, lifting it until I met his eyes.

"This isn't the happy Disney video game universe that you believe it is, Sam." He said darkly. "Not anymore."

The darkness was sliding across my skin now, slithering like snakes. I could vaguely hear my name being called, but I paid it no mind. My eyes began to burn like they had in the Room of Reflection. I shut them tight. All I could feel was the fear... the darkness...

No! I can't give into it! I searched for the connection between Kaity and I.

_Now!_, I screamed through it.

Pulling on the light inside my heart, I made it wash over my skin, pushing the darkness from me. Divan stumbled backwards from the force of my light. The fear that had been choking me left. Snapping open my eyes, I looked at Divan.

He was livid. "Why, you little-"

BOOM!

I ducked to the ground as pieces of the wall behind me flew over my head. Divan and the Heartless fell and skidded backward from the force of the explosion.

"Sam!"

I looked through the dusty air back at Kaity. She was standing near a Hulk sized hole in the Castle wall, holding what looked like small cherry bombs. I grinned and slipped my bow over my head as I stood up. The hole opened up an opening into the room next to this one. Before the bad guys could figure out what we were doing, we ran into the next room and out the door and into the hall. Remembering my plan, I grabbed Kaity's wrist and pulled her down the hall. Yells and running footsteps came after us.

When I had been looking for Kaity earlier, I had come across a room with a large window that looked over the front of the castle. Through the window was also the Gummi ship. I swervde my eyes from door to door, counting them. I could feel the presence of Divans darkness close behind us.

Finding the door I was looking for, I grasped the knob, slamming open the door. Near us, a part of the hall caught fire. Kaity and I screamed, looking back to see the bad guys sprinting towards us. I guess Lea inherited Axels ability for fire.

Kaity and I dashed into the room and went to the window. We stopped and looked out it to see the familiar yellow and red ship. Kaity stepped back and clapped her hands, beginning phase two of the plan. As Kaity was creating her gadget, Divan and the Heartless hurtled into the room. I spun around and stood in front of Kaity, protecting her as she finished her project.

Divan glared at me with rage. I narrowed my eyes at him and took a fighting stance. Rauliam charged forward, running towards me. I shot out my right hand and channeled the static electricity through it and blasted it at him. The force of it lurched him off his feet and through the air into the wall. I starred at my hand, wide eyed.

That was so frickin' awesome!

"I'm done!" Kaity yelled behind me.

Divan lurched forward, throwing himself at me as Kaity grabbed me around the waist and pushed us both backwards. The shattering of glass drowned out the enraged cry from Divan. It took me a moment to realize that Kaity and I were falling backwards through the air, plummeting towards the ground from the top of the castle. I screamed as she flipped us around to face the ground.

"Grab onto me!" She commanded

I twisted around to hold onto her waist. Strapped to her back was something that looked like a hang-glider with moveable wings. She let go of me and grabbed the two metallic cords that were whipping in the air. She pulled on them and we lurched into a controlled glide. The sudden jerk caused me to loosen my grip and I began to fall. Reaching for something to hold onto, I grabbed Kaity's legs and dangled as she clumsily soared us toward the Gummi ship.

A few seconds later, the back of my ankles hit the dusty ground. Kaity used her ability to make the contraption on her back disappear and we both hit the ground tumbling. We stumbled to our feet and ran toward the Gummi ship. I pulled out the key and opened it up.

When we reached the control room, I jammed the key into the ignition and started the engine. I glance up at the window we jumped out of and saw a silhouette standing there. A cold shiver streamed down my spine. I could almost feel his blue eyes staring into me. I shook my head and snapped my attention to the controls. I sat in the captains chair and buckled up. Kaity sat in the chair on my right and did the same.

The Gummi ship lifted into the air and soared off into space. It was quiet. I set up the auto pilot, telling it to take us to Radiant Garden.

With a heavy sigh, I leaned back in my seat. I stared out into the open universe before us. "I think we're in trouble." I muttered gravely.

"You think?" Kaity said sarcastically.


	22. Trust Issues

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Twenty-one: Trust Issues

A few hours had passed since our great escape and the Gummi ship was coming up on Radiant Garden. Nothing had really been said between Kaity and me. After everything that had happened... I guess we just didn't know what to say. I was going to question her about what had happened to her. I wanted to know her side of the story. Why did they kidnap her? What did they want her to do? Then I had a feeling that, deep down, I really didn't want to know... Because whatever the answer is, I was the one they wanted. Whatever they wanted from her, they wanted from me.

An annoying beep from the controls pulled me from my thoughts. The ship was shifting into manual mode so that it could be landed. Moving around in my seat, I grabbed onto the controls and started the descend into Radiant Garden. We broke through the atmosphere and soared over the castle toward the town. My flying is horrible to begin with and to make things worse, it was dark and pouring rain.

As we neared our landing point, I slowed the Gummi ship down more and more until it was almost hovering in midair. When I was sure I had the ship hovering over the spot it had been resting in just outside town, I started to set it down. I had wanted it to land gently, like Riku had, but I ended up jerking us around as it hit the ground hard. I hastily let go of the controls and unbuckled myself, pulling the key out of the ignition as I stood. Kaity and I walked out of the Gummi ship and into the freezing rain.

I lifted my face to the dark clouds above our heads and blinked as the rain hit my face. The water felt nice against my skin, washing away the dust and grim from the explosion in the castle. My clothes were soaked in a matter of seconds along with my bag. Great. Now everything is going to be soaking wet. With a miserable sigh, I pulled my bow over my head and swept the hair plastered against my forehead out of my eyes. I looked over at Kaity who was trying to catch rain drops in her mouth. I grinned at the childish act.

"Are you thirsty or something?" I asked her.

Kaity closed her mouth and turned to look at me with a tormented glare. "Yes! And I'm starving!" She complained, clutching her stomach. "The jerks didn't feed me or anything."

"Be glad, they could've poisoned you." I said as my own stomach growled at me. I hadn't eaten anything since the night before. "I'm hungry too."

"Well then, let's go!" Kaity said impatiently. "There has to be food at Merlin's house and we have to go there anyways and tell the guys that we're back." She began walking toward the Market Place.

Oh yeah... Merlin's house...

Reluctantly, I followed Kaity through the pouring rain. I didn't want to go to Merlin's house. The guys are there. _Riku_ is there. God, he's going to kill me. He's going to kill me and then he's going to bring me back and kill me again.

"Do you think we could just take off to some other world?" I anxiously to Kaity over the sound of the rain. "Somewhere far, far away from here?"

Kaity slowed so that she was walking beside me. She turned to me with a tired glare. "You stole the Gummi ship, Sam. Now you have to pay for your actions. You're going to have to face them sooner or later."

"Yeah, well, I pick later." I huffed at her. "And I didn't steal it."

"Whatever, and that's too bad. I'm making it sooner." She sped up her pace, walking a few yards ahead of me. I groaned in frustration and angrily kicked a nearby puddle of water.

We navigated our way through the Market place and into the Borough in silence. If we wanted to speak, it would be in vain. The rain thundering down around us was deafening. Not to mention it was cold. I shivered and crossed my arms over my chest. My shirt was soaking wet and was no help in trying to keep me warm. I thought about the clothes that Kairi had lent us and was thankful that I had thought to keep them.

It wasn't until we were in view of Merlin's house that I noticed him.

I was just walking along when I got the feeling that someone was watching me. Instinctively, I stopped and turned to face the place where I felt them. I peered through the sheet of rain at a alleyway about twenty feet back. It was hard to see through the rain, but I saw him. The first flash of lighting sparked in the air, lighting up the world for just a second, giving me just enough light to see him.

Divan was leaning casually against the alley wall, his hands in his pockets, his hair plastered to his face and his eyes staring steadily at me.

My heart jumped into my throat. I tried to call out to Kaity, but my voice wasn't working right. Instead, I force my feet to turn and run toward Kaity who was standing just outside of Merlin's house. I grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

"Sam, wha-"

"It's Divan!" I sputtered. I looked back and pointed to the spot where I had seen him.

Except there was no one there.

Kaity looked at the spot confused. "Where?"

"He was right there!" I shouted panicked. Where did he go?

Kaity saw the fear in my face. She glanced back at the spot I had pointed too. "We need to get inside. He'd be an idiot to follow us in here."

Kaity pushed open the door the Merlin's house and stepped inside. Just before I followed her in, I could have sworn I saw a flash of blue in the rain not too far away.

With a yelp, I shut the door and backed away from it. Kaity was right, he wouldn't follow us in here. If he did, he'd have to face every person in here. I made my heart slow down. It wouldn't help anyone if I had a heart attack. We were safe for now.

Calming down, I turned to face the room. Water dripped from my soaked clothes onto the wooden floor, pooling at my feet. It was warm in the room, but my body wouldn't stop shivering. Kaity was in the same state I was, but there where people clustering around her. Sora, Roxas, Yuffie, Aerith, and Leon were standing around her, battering her with questions. She looked overwhelmed.

No one had noticed me yet, so I took that moment to pull my bow over head and set it against the nearest bookcase along with my sopping wet bag. When I straightened back up, I looked over to the group of people talking in a garbled mess. Leon was quiet, as usual, asking a question here and there. When he looked up, he saw me standing by the door and nodded slightly. I half smiled back. I'm going to take that as a "Good job, Sam".

Roxas saw Leon look up and he turned around, catching my eye. He stepped away from Kaity and walked over to me.

"Hey..." He said with a small smile. "You alright?" He looked worried.

_Aw, how sweet_, I thought. I half smiled back. "No, but I can deal with it." I said solemnly.

"Prepare yourself, then." He said warningly. "Riku's furious."

I looked over Roxas' shoulder and saw Riku standing stock still next to the computer with his eyes closed and his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose in anger. In his fist was my necklace, glittering in the light of the room. I think he felt me looking at him because his eyes flashed open and met mine with a death glare containing all the fires of Hell. My eyes widened as he untwisted myself and began to walk over toward me and Roxas.

"Roxas?" I said timidly.

"Yeah?"

"Tell Kaity to tell my mom that I love her." I whimpered.

Roxas flashed a grin before turning around to see my death stalking toward us. "He won't kill you." He said confidently. "But... just incase..." Roxas stayed standing in front of me, half shielding me. _Thanks Roxas, your certainty is assuring_, I thought sourly while backing up into the wall behind me.

Riku stopped a foot away from Roxas (two feet away from me, cowering in the wall) and stood tall with his arms crossed, his eyes still were narrowed at me. "Would you like to begin, or should I?" He hissed.

"Just get it over with." I said, preparing to fire back if I needed too.

"Why in the Hell would you go off on your own?" Riku exploded. "What you did was stupid and irresponsible! You could have been killed! Or worse!"

God, he sounded like my mother.

"If you would have left when you were planning too, you would have been too late!" I shouted back.

"That's not the point! You shouldn't have gone alone!" He yelled. "Your inexperienced! For God's sake, you can't even fight!"

"I'm here, aren't I? I got back safely, didn't I?" I yelled. " I'm not as weak as you think I am! I can take care of myself!"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" He yelled furiously. The room was quiet. The others were watching us in a stunned silence. I backed hard into the wall, shocked at the sudden rise in his voice. "YOU'RE IN DANGER! _YOU_ ARE!"

I turned my face away from his, hiding behind my wet hair. "I know." I muttered. I know that I'm in danger. But... How does he know that? I turned my eyes to meet his. He knows something that he's not telling me. I looked upon him uncertainly. "How do _you_ know what kind of danger I'm in?"

For a moment, the anger vanished from Riku's eyes, replaced by a taken aback look. Then the frustration came back. "We know more about you two then you think." He said carefully.

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" I said, getting annoyed.

"We know that Kaity is the Other of Kairi and that you have retained Namine's soul." Riku explained. "The king told us. He said that there were going to be people after you. Hunting you down for the power you hold. When Kaity was kidnapped, we knew that they would be after you. That's why we didn't want to take and deliver you straight to them!"

"Wait...you've known about our true selves this whole time?" I said, irritation rising inside me. I glance at both Sora and Roxas, who were avoiding my gaze guiltily. "And you never told us?"

"The king told us not to let you know that we knew who you were!" Riku explained annoyed. "You had to tell us when you were ready or else we would have never known if you two trusted us or not!"

I can't believe this! All this time, I thought that I was hiding a secret about myself from them, but they were the ones with the secret. Kaity told them about where we had come from because I thought it would help them trust us a little more. We already trusted them. We know who they are. I just didn't want to tell them about how Kaity and I were connected with Kairi and Namine until we were sure they trusted us. But now...

"I don't trust you." I said darkly, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What?" Riku said taken aback. "Then why did you confide in us about your home world and who you really are?"

"Because I was trying to get you guys to trust us!" I shouted. "I thought that if we told you about where we came from, then you'd trust us a little more. But no..." I said. "You never trusted us. You never would've until we came up to you and spilled our life story!"

Riku didn't look like he had a comeback for that. I rendered the great Riku speechless. Way to go me!

"If I trust you, you'll know it." I said. "Until then, I wouldn't pride myself on thinking that you know everything about us."

I could see the heat rising in Riku again. He took a step forward as if to pin me completely against the wall, but out of nowhere, Kaity was suddenly between us, shoving Riku away.

"That's enough!" She snapped at him. "We have bigger problems then this! The point is that Sam and I are back, safe and sound. Now just get over it and move on!"

Riku looked as if he wanted to punch something, but he held his temper and turned away. He stalked over to a small table holding several books and slammed my necklace on to it before moving away to brood in the corner.

Warily, I went to go pick up my necklace. I gently turned it over and over in my fingers, examining it for any scratches. Glancing over to the corner, I saw Riku still glaring at me. Sighing through my nose, I slipped the necklace over my head and shivered. My clothes were still wet and it was keeping my body from warming itself. If I don't change soon, I'm going to catch a cold. I turned and spotted Sora standing near the black board. I fished my hand into my pocket and walked over to him.

"Here," I said pulling out the Gummi ship keys. "Take them."

Sora took the keys from me and slipped them into a pocket. He looked a bit unnerved by the conversation between Riku and me. His eyes darted over my shoulder, probably to glance at Riku. He seemed to nod slightly, as if agreeing to something. When his eyes returned to mine, they were unwavering. "Sam, we need to know what happened."

I stared back into his eyes suspiciously. There was something... different about them...

My own eyes narrowed slightly. He knows something. He knows something that I don't. _So much for wanting to change out of these clothes_, I thought miserably. "Kaity could probably answer your questions better than I can." I said, turning away to go sit next to my bag and bow. So many secrets...

Kaity was now sitting on the single bed in the room, shivering. She seemed to have the same thought I did, because she glance unhappily at her clothes before huffing. She wrapped her arms around the upper half of her body before looking tiredly at Sora. "What do you want to know?"

"Who kidnapped you and what did they want?" Sora asked still standing. I swear, does that boy ever sit down? Everyone else in the room was standing as well. Except for Cid, of course, he was working at the computer still.

Kaity was silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "At first... I didn't know who had taken me." She began. "When I was patrolling, this breeze blew past me and I had this huge whiff of flowers. I was talking to Sam over the headset and told her, but I didn't realize where the scent had come from until it was too late.

"I was in the Great Maw and I turned around to see a man standing in the middle of the clearing." She explained. Her voice seemed distant, like she was reliving it in her head or something. "I was confused at first, but then I saw his face and I added one plus one and I knew who he was. It didn't matter that his hair wasn't pink, I still recognized him. So I ran.

"But he caught up to me in the Dark Depths and dragged me through a portal of darkness." Her face twisted in confusion. "I think I fainted or something, because the next thing I knew, I was tied to a chair in a huge white room." She said uncertainly.

"You probably passed out from traveling through the darkness." Riku said from his corner. He still looked irritated, but his attention was on Kaity's story. "It's not safe to travel through it without some kind of protective shield. You could die."

"But... I wasn't wearing anything that could protect me from the darkness. How did I survive?" Kaity asked confused.

"That's a good question..." Riku muttered.

"Anyways," I interrupted. "What did they want?"

"Oh, right." Kaity said, snapping back to her story. "I woke up in that room and a guy that looked a lot like Saix came in and started commanding me to do things. He kept telling me to draw something. Then he started telling me to find someone with my drawings and arrest his heart. I was so confused!" Kaity shouted desolately. "I kept telling him that I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, but he just got more annoyed. I tried to ask him questions, like who the hell he was and where I was, but he ignored me and told me to draw.

"The thing that got me though was when he started calling me a 'Witch' and told me to use my abilities to find the person. My ability to delve into someone's heart and rearrange their chain of memories." Kaity glanced over at me, followed by everyone else.

I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I looked up at the guys face's. They were looking at me knowingly. I glared back at them and looked away. "Yeah, Isa was talking about me. So what?"

Sora and Roxas wouldn't retort back, but Riku would challenge me. But he didn't, surprisingly. Although, I felt someone burning holes into my head.

"Uh, after that, Isa left and I tried to escape, but I couldn't." Kaity began again. "I fell asleep and woke up when I heard voice's coming from the other side of the door. They were really soft, so I didn't hear what they said. A few minutes later, Sam found me..." Kaity said, her voice growing darker, "and they found us."

Kaity finished her story with a gloomy look on her face, remembering what had ensued after I found her. Roxas had taken a seat on the ground close to me, leaning against the wall, but still far enough away to see Kaity and me. Riku was still in the corner and Sora had just then sat on the raised platform the table was setting upon in the center of the room. Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith were all still standing.

"That didn't really answer any of Sora's questions..." Leon said from where he was standing.

"No, I explained it up to that point so that Sam could explain the rest." Kaity said with a small smile. I shot daggers at her head. I didn't want to explain anything. Kaity turned and sent me a meaningful look. Oh... I see... she wants me to explain what happened with Divan. Why I froze up...

I looked away and stared at my hands that were curled around my legs. I could feel the impatience of everyone in the room. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my memories of what happened to the front of my mind. "When I got to Castle Oblivion, no one confronted me when I entered the castle. I remembered from a manga that there were supposed to be camera's throughout the castle, so I was a bit confused on why no one tried to come kill me." I began quietly. I already decided not to tell them about the Room of Reflection experience. That... I don't even know what it was. But something just told me not to tell anyone about it. Not now, at least. "After a while of navigating the halls, I found a short cut that led me up to the thirteenth floor. When I entered the thirteenth floor, I found a hallway with a lot of doors.

"I checked the doors, but after about five or six of them, I heard voice's. I followed them to a room that was the control room for all of the camera's throughout the castle." I told them. "I think they lost me when I took the short cut, because I they were trying to find me on the monitors. After that, one of them spoke up and said that thought they had the wrong girl and the one that they needed was me. I overheard them saying that they had been watching Kaity and me since our arrival here, trying to figure out which of us they needed to take.

"But they couldn't tell." I glanced first at Sora, then to Riku. "They said that the one with the most darkness was the one they needed, but something was blocking him from telling which of us it was. He couldn't read our hearts."

"Read your hearts?" Yuffie pipped in. "How can you read a heart?"

"More like _smell,_ than read, but yeah." I said with a shrug.

At that Riku stiffened. "Smell? What did this man look like?"

What? Oh, wait... that's right, Riku still remembers the Organization members that were stationed at Castle Oblivion. Sora's memories of that place were erased by Namine, but not Riku. He would know about Zexion and his ability to smell a person's level of darkness.

"It wasn't a man." I said. "He looked like a boy." I looked at the guys. I guess it's time to just tell them who we're up against. "The Organization hasn't come back, so you don't need to worry about that. What we're up against is far worse..."

"What?" Sora said impatiently. "What is it?"

"Heartless." Kaity said gravely. "Human formed heartless of the old Organization XIII members."

... "What?"

Although they were yelling at Kaity, I flinched at the exclamations from everyone.

Sora jumped up from his seat. "Human formed heartless? Do you mean like Ansem?"

"Of course that's what we mean." I snapped tiredly.

"How many were there?" Riku asked, moving away from the corner.

I narrowed my eyes at him and he stopped moving. I'm still mad at him and if he comes within reach, he's getting punched. "Four heartless." I held up four fingers "Isa - Saixs' heartless other." I flipped down one finger. "Ienzo - Zexions' heartless other, Rauliam- Marluxias' heartless other, and Lea," I said, looking at Roxas. "Axels' heartless other."

Roxas looked a little startled, but reigned in his surprise. Riku nodded as if he thought of something and crossed his arms again in thought. Sora sat down heavily on the stone platform. "Four more human formed heartless..."

"But that's not all..." Kaity said looking at me.

"What?" Sora said looking at us. "What else happened?"

Riku looked at me. "Who else was there?"

"After they found out that I was the one they needed, they went out to search the castle. But when they found me, they were going to kill Kaity." I said with a pointed look at Riku. See? If I hadn't gone, she would have been killed. "I found Kaity and freed her. Just as we were about to escape, we were ambushed by the heartless and... Divan." I felt my throat tighten at the memory of him.

Everyone looked confused. "Who is Divan?" Sora asked.

"I...I don't know..." I whispered, thinking back to the affect he had on me. Who could have such darkness and survive? (Funny... Ienzo said the same thing about me...) "He was in charge though. He told us about the others... but..." I paused looking at Sora. "He seemed taken aback that we didn't know who they were. Why would we know?" I said perplexed. "I'd never seen him before. Then he said something about a master...his master over-estimating my knowledge..."

"A master?" Riku asked stiffly.

"Yeah," I said looking at him. "He didn't give a name."

Riku and Sora exchanged a meaningful look. I looked at both of them. "What?"

"Did anything else happen?" Riku asked guardedly.

"Not really," I said carefully. "We played twenty questions, Divan tried to seduce me into the darkness, we ran, we blew up stuff, and then we escaped."

"Wait, Divan seduced you?" Roxas asked.

"_Tried_ to seduce me." I said with emphasis. "But, yeah. He was using his own darkness to try and get to the darkness in my heart." I lowered my voice at the memory. "It was terrifying."

I don't know why I was so mesmerized by it, but that fact is that I was... and that is not a good thing at all. It took all of my strength to push him off of me. What if he were to corner me again, but with no one around to help me? What if that was what he was trying to do earlier in the rain? I shivered not from the cold, but from the possibility. _What would have happened?_, I thought quietly. _What would I have done?_

"At one point, I thought he had you." Kaity muttered after a moment. "All of the power in that room... I'm surprised we didn't drown in it."

It was quiet for a few minutes as everyone took it in, thinking to themselves. I was still cold and wet. Sighing pensively, I brushed my fingers through my hair, taking out the knots. All I want is a warm shower and sleep. Screw eating, I can wait until tomorrow to eat.

"Well, hell!"

I snapped my head up at the shout to see Riku pacing across the floor, fuming. What the heck is his problem? I looked over at Sora who was now standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked kind of irritated too. Roxas was off the floor as well, watching Riku walk back and forth.

"This changes everything, doesn't it?" Roxas said wearily.

Change what?

"Yeah, it does." Sora sulked.

"What will you do?" Leon questioned them. Riku stopped pacing and looked at him blankly along with Sora and Roxas.

Um, okay... that's not confusing at all.

"What are you guys going on about?" I said, standing up. "Is there something else you're hiding from us?" The guys turned to look at me. I crossed my arms over my chest as another shiver over took my body. Sora's eyes widened and he glanced at Kaity and I, taking in our bed-ragged state.

"You're both soaking wet!" He said with realization.

Thanks Captain Obvious, what else are you going to tell us? That fire is hot?

I grinded my teeth together to keep from biting his head off. Kaity looked immensely irritated as well. "Thanks, Sherlock." She snapped. "I hadn't noticed."

Sora blushed and sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

Riku raked his eyes over Kaity and I before closing his eyes and sighing. "This can wait until tomorrow." He said, looking up at us. "You two need to shower and change before you catch a cold."

No matter how much I wanted to know what they were hiding from us, I was too tired. If I have to stay up any longer, I might just pass out here. To prove my thought, I lifted my hand to cover my mouth as a huge yawn broke out.

"And then you both should get some sleep." Riku added after he saw me yawn.

"Let's go then." Kaity mumbled, standing up from the bed.

The five of us bid goodnight to the others and stepped outside of the warm house and back into the pouring rain. I had to grab my bow and bag, so I was the last to walk out of the house. When I was out in the rain, I tilted my head up to the sky, staring into the falling drops of water. Will it ever stop? Lowering my head, I ran forward a few steps to catch up with the others. I stayed near the back, bringing up the rear. For a moment, I had a feeling that someone was watching me, but it was gone just as sudden. Could it be Divan again? Alarm creeping up my spin, I jogged forward until I was walking next to Roxas. I glanced over my shoulder, but I didn't see anything.

"Are you alright?"

I lifted my eyes to Roxas, meeting his own eyes. He looked concerned. I half smiled and lowered my gaze. "I'm not sure."

The rain was colder than ever and my clothes were again hanging on my body like sodden rags. The others looked no better. Tucking my arms close to me, I tried to stop my teeth from chattering, but I was too cold. It's amazing that the rain hasn't turned into snow yet. Does Radiant Garden even get snow?

A few minutes later, we came upon our hotel. It was like a lighthouse in the night, shining through the rain. The five of us filed into the warm structure and trudged up the stairs to our rooms. Kaity and I reached our door and bid goodnight to the guys. As soon as the door was open, I charged past Kaity into the bathroom.

"Sam!" She whined from the other side of the door.

"Sorry, love." I called back. "A girl has to fight for what she wants."

A hard 'thump' echoed on the door as Kaity hit it. After I turned on the shower to let it warm up, I discarded my bow, bag, and clothing. I wrapped my arms around my bare body to keep warm as another violent shiver shook me. I didn't dare look at myself in the mirror over the sink. I didn't need to see myself to know that I looked like a wreck.

A few minutes later, I stepped under the warm, welcoming spray of water, sighing. My shivering stopped and I began to scrub the grim and all signs of what happened at Castle Oblivion from my body. The rain had gotten rid of most of it, but I still felt dirty. I was going to use the time to think about everything that had happened, but weariness kept my mind from doing anything other than wash my body.

When I finally felt like I was clean, I turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel to dry off. I dried off and grabbed the outfit Kairi had given me out from the cabinet under the sink. I dressed, brushed my hair and teeth, and then turned to stare at my sodden clothes lying on the floor. With a huff of annoyance, I picked up all the clothes and threw them in the corner of the bathroom. I saw a small laundry room on the ground floor of the hotel when we came in. After Kaity's done showering, we'll take care of our clothes. With a small nod at the thought, I grabbed my bag and bow and exited the bathroom.

"Finally!" Kaity shouted, exasperated. "Why it takes you over twenty minutes to shower, I will never know!"

I set down my bow and began emptying my bag. "I have longer hair then you do, Kai." I said while pulling out my sketchbook. "Like, a foot and half longer. It takes awhile to wash all of this hair."

"And you wonder why my hair is so short." She grumbled as she closed the bathroom door.

I smiled and flipped through my sketchbook, checking for water damage. I liked having long hair. The one time I had cut it over my shoulders was the worst mistake I had ever made. The months after that were miserable. For me and my family. However, Kaity looked really pretty with shorter hairstyles. She had the face for it. A gift I wasn't given.

I guess that's another thing that we have in common with our other selves here in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Kairi has always been pictured with short hairstyles and, well, I don't know how long Deirdra's hair is now, but in my vision thing it had been pretty long.

I set the contents of my bag on the night stand next to my bed. Surprisingly, none of the supplies was wet. The bag was soaked through, but the water seemed not to touch anything in it. Strange, but extremely lucky. Wet paper is not fun to deal with. I looked over the items, stopping when I saw the Earth book setting on top of my sketch book. I had forgotten that I had that with me. Picking it up, I opened to the table of contents and ran a finger down the long list.

I was half way down the page when I heard the turning of a knob. I looked back at the bathroom door, expecting Kaity to walk out. But the door wasn't opening and the water was still running. I turned to see the front door, but it was closed. The sound of falling rain broke through the silence, drowning out the sound of Kaity's shower.

Hastily, I turned around to see the balcony door standing wide open, but there was no one standing in the doorway. I cautiously walked toward the door. I know for a fact that this door was locked, so the wind couldn't have opened it. I reached toward the door, ready to slam it shut on whoever opened it.

"Don't bother closing it," a voice said from behind me. "I won't be staying long."

Gasping in alarm, I spun around and saw sea blue eyes staring back at me.

* * *

Hey everyone, I'm really sorry about this late update. I didn't expect it to take me this long to write. School started for me three weeks ago and when it did, it hit me hard. Senior year sucks. Period. So between my piles of homework, volunteering hours, and other classes, I'll write for this story. I'm not giving up on it. Ever. Unless, you know, I die or something.  
Thanks for reading!  
Review if you want to, I love getting feedback.  
~Dreamer


	23. Revelation

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two: Revelation

Alarm seized my sense's as I tried to mentally grab at anything that would help me. I was so stupid. I should have seen this coming. He had been following me this whole time, waiting for me to be alone. God, I'm an idiot.

Because I hadn't used my brain, Divan was now standing less than a yard away, soaked from head to toe in water with a puddle forming on the floor around his feet. He should've looked like a drowned cat with his hair plastered to his face and water dripping from his chin and hands, but the water seemed to make him more alluring. Slowly drying strands of dark hair framed his striking face, emphasizing the deep pacific blue color of his eyes. His already form fitting shirt clung wetly to every muscle on his chest and arms.

My heart, already hammering from fear, skipped a beat and continued to try and break free of my body. Stupid hormones. I have enough trouble without you adding to it.

Mentally shaking away such thoughts, my eyes shot over to where my bow was lying on the floor. On the other side of the room. My shoulders tensed at the inconvenience. I had to try and reach it. I wasn't going down without a fight.

Swiftly moving to the side, I pushed myself across the floor, reaching for the weapon just out of my grasp. However, fate had intended a different outcome for me. A heavy weight slammed against my ribs and redirected my body into tumbling across the floor, as far away from my bow as possible. I cried out as my already bruised limbs slammed into the wall. The Earth book flew out of my hand and slid across the floor toward my bed.

Breathing heavily, I tried to push myself up, but cried out again as a sharp pain shot from my arm and through my ribs. Just great. He bruised them even more! What a jerk!

Divan composed himself and moved to the edge of my bed where the Earth book had slid. Bending down, he picked it up from the ground and swung around to look at me. Feeling pathetic, I made my body sit up and lean heavily on the wall behind me. I hissed at the movement and wrapped my arms around my torso. I scowled and glared at Divan as he walked casually forward and squatted before me, Earth book in hand. The side of his mouth tilted up in a humorous smirk. Like I was some child that he thought to be funny.

"Now, there was no need for that." He told my haughtily. "I hadn't planned on doing anything to hurt you."

Fear of being captivated by his eyes kept me from meeting them, so I focused my cold stare on his nose. "Then what are you here for?" I asked through my teeth. "What do you want?"

"What I want..." He said seriously. "...is what I can't have." His free hand lifted to trace a lock of my hair that hung in front of my eyes. He pushed the strands behind my ear and slowly pulled his hands away, letting the damp tresses slide from his fingers before letting out a simpering smile. "Yet."

My body had frozen as he played with my hair, but that last word had me frowning in disgust. I considered spitting in his face, but since I liked having my face the way it is, I kicked out at him instead. He caught my foot and shoved it back at me painfully. I grimaced and glared frostily into his eyes. Screw not meeting them. I want him to see how much I hate him.

Divan chuckled at my expression. "I came to talk." He said smoothly, as he turned the Earth book over in his hands.

My frown deepened. "About what?"

He ignored my question and continued to examine the book. I grinded my teeth in frustration. If I didn't get him to leave soon, I was ether going to huddle in the corner of the room and scream for Sora or get really angry and punch his face. I couldn't see ether one of those turning out well.

"About _what_?" I growled at him.

Divan looked up at me for a second before looking back down at the book as he flipped it open and stood up. "Temper, temper." He chided as he paced away from me. I stumbled to my feet and watched him warily as he flipped through the book. I'm sure that it's not a good thing that he's looking through it.

"Ether tell me what you need to," I said impatiently. "Or leave."

"Patience is a virtue," He said as he leafed to the table of contents at the front of the book.

"And Pride is a sin." I countered icily.

Divan opened his mouth to say something more, but his eyes stopped moving and his voice was lost as he read something on the page. His eyes hardened and I saw the muscle in his jaw tighten as he snapped his teeth together."Well, now..." He said as he flipped to a chapter in the back of the book. "Why would _that_ be in here?"

"What are you doing?" I asked, taking a wary step toward him.

Of course, he ignored what I said and just kept flipping through the book. He skimmed a few pages and shook his head disapprovingly. "This just won't do." And the next thing I knew, he grabbed about twenty pages in his hands and with one swift jerk, tore out the whole chapter from the book.

My mouth dropped open in disbelief as he emitted flames from his palms and burned the pages to ashes. I snapped my jaw shut and lifted my burning eyes to his. "What the hell?" I exclaimed, stomping over to him. "Why did you do that?"

Closing the book, Divan faced me and offered it to me. "Here, you can read it now."

I snatched it back and flipped to the damaged section. The whole chapter was gone! "Why did you do that?" I snapped at him, accusingly.

"There was no need for _that_ information to be in that book." He stated coolly.

Aggravation bubbled through my veins, threatening to explode through any open source. Who in the hell does he think he is? I've had enough! "Out!" I exclaimed, slamming the book closed. "Get out now!"

"What about our talk?" He said pretending to be crestfallen, but had an amused glint in his eyes, from my anger most likely.

"I don't care!" I snapped. "Get out!"

"Fine." He said resigned, walking smoothly toward the door. "I'll leave. But let me tell you this..."

My breath caught in my throat and all my anger vanished as fear jolted through my body. Divan stopped at the open door way and turned back to me, locking his eyes with mine. I felt an uncomfortable burning pressure behind my eyes, like when they had turned gold before. I knew I should have turned my eyes away, but I couldn't move. Darkness, sickly sweet, slid silently across my arms and over my paralyzed body. I could taste it... feel it looking for a weakness. Any way to slip under my skin.

Divans eyes lit up as he felt my fear through the darkness and smiled at it. "My master sent me to give you a warning." He said, darkness coating his words. "He said, _'Tell her that we will be watching her_.'"

My body stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"He was impressed by your actions at Castle Oblivion. The way that you saved your friend and how you resisted the pull of darkness... even though you wanted to accept it." His voice took on a questioning edge as he stared at me like a complicated math problem that just wouldn't add up. "Your ability intrigues him. He believes that there might be more to you then he previously thought and wants you to be aware of all of your abilities before he takes you. It would make our job so much easier if you already discovered everything on your own."

So I'm a lab rat now? Awesome. That's just perfect. "Thanks for the warning." I said venomously. "You can tell your master to shove it because I'm not some bug under a microscope!"

Divan smirked. "I'll be sure to pass it on."

Then he was gone.

Blinking back angry tears, I stared at the spot Divan had been standing in. I walked up and slammed the door shut, making sure to lock it. Good riddance.

I stood staring at the wood of the door as the adrenaline rush from the fear and anger pushed through my veins. So now I was being watched? That's just peachy. It's better than being hunted down, but it's like being a bag of popcorn. You find it, heat it up and watch it pop until all the kernels are exposed, and then you take it out and eat it.

I grimaced at my own analogy. I was a bag of popcorn to them. Great.

I kicked the door and went to my cluttered bed, sitting down on the corner. Despair fell over me as I sat there with one hand propped on my knees and holding my head and the other hanging between my legs, holding the Earth book. What was I going to do? What will happen when they suddenly decide that they want me? I can't fight Divan. His darkness is too strong. I would end up falling into it rather than fighting it off. And this master? Who is he? and what does he want me to do?

So many questions... so little answers.

My eyes slid over to the Earth book in my hand. Curious, I flipped open the book to find out which chapter Divan tore out. When I reached the empty spot, I gently ran my fingers over the torn edges of the missing papers stuck in the binding, trying to sense the information Divan thought that I shouldn't know. There were twenty-four pages missing between chapters twenty-seven and twenty-nine. I flipped to the table of contents and searched for the chapter title.

_Chapter 28: The Lost Kingdom of Hearts_

_The Kingdom of Hearts?_, I thought bewildered. What is that? What does it mean? And it's _lost_? Annoyed, I threw the book across the room at the wall.

That _worm_!

He knew something about whatever was in that chapter and tore it out! Now I'll never know what it said!

I cursed his name up and down as I paced across the room, irritated. I was so absorbed in my ranting that I didn't even notice Kaity exit the bathroom, fully dressed in her other outfit. She stopped in the doorway and watched me pacing briskly between the wall and my bed, spouting out dark profanities.

"If I ask, are you going to hurt me?" She piped up nervously.

Unattractively squeaking, I spun around with my hand over my heart. "God, Kaity!" I breathed as my heart raced. "You scared the crap out of me!"

Flashing a brief smile, she gestured to me. "So, what's up? You were okay ten minutes ago."

Has it really only been ten minutes? It's felt more like ten years since she got in the shower. At her words though, the dark cloud rolled back across my face. "Divan is what's up."

"Divan?" Kaity exclaimed.

"The arrogant prick just waltzed in here and strutted about the room in his holier-than-thou attitude, man-handling my stuff!" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "I mean, really! If he thinks that he can just-"

"Wait, Sam," Kaity interrupted as she walked up to me. "What did he want?"

I crossed my arms. "He wanted to give me a _warning_." I sneered. "He said that they aren't going to try and take me yet. They want to _observe_ me like I'm some kind of bug."

"Why? and who's _they_?"

"Divan and his master." I said as I turned around and picked up the Earth book. "Whoever that is. He said that his master wants my abilities to be totally developed and discovered before they kidnap me and force me to do whatever it is they want."

Kaity was quiet. I glanced at her face to see the same silent fear I was beginning to feel as the reality of Divan's words finally registered. What was I going to do? Everyone feels uncomfortable and scared when they know that someone is watching them, but this was different. They didn't want to hurt me. They want to _use_ me. For some reason, I can't help the feeling that death would be so much better.

Opening the Earth book to the chapter contents, I turned it around and pointed at the title of the missing chapter. "Look," I said quietly. "When he was here, he picked up the book and had a freak out when he saw this chapter." Kaity took the book and started turning to the indicated page. "Don't bother, he tore it out and burned the pages." I said bitterly.

Kaity flipped back to the chapter index. "Do you think Riku or Sora might know about this? _The Lost Kingdom of Hearts_?"

"I don't know." I said as I sat on the corner of my bed. "They don't even know that I took that book."

Kaity sighed, defeated. She sat across from me on her bed and watched me pick up my sketchbook and flip through it. It's a good thing that he didn't get his hands on this or else we would have been totally screwed. As I turned the pages and briefly glimpsed each drawing, I started to become suspicious of the simple book. I began wondering if it was charmed because I never ran out of paper. I must have used about thirty pages by now, it didn't even look like a fourth of the book was used up, much less, half of it.

The last page was a portrait of a dark haired boy with no eyes. I had drawn it while I was on my way to rescue Kaity. A jolt of surprise went up my spine as I realized that it was a picture of Divan. Almost mechanically, I picked up a pencil and drew in the sharp roundness of his eyes. Making them as cold and piercing as I seemed to always see them. Although the finished drawing was in gray scale, I picked up the blue color pencil and shaded in his iris's. I imaged his eyes gentle and laughing. He must be about seventeen or eighteen-years-old. I wonder how he got mixed up in all of this...

"Sam, we have to leave..."

I looked up at Kaity, her words pulling me from my thoughts. She had her eyes closed, leaning forward with her arms resting on her knees. "Leave?" I questioned.

"This universe." She said quietly, opening her eyes. "Before something happens to us... to you. Before you're gone and I can't get you back."

A shared fear washed over me. She was right. We had to get out of here before we were caught up in this too much. Not that we already aren't...

"Yeah..." I sighed. "But for the moment, we're okay. We can use the time to figure something out. I mean, how do you even travel across different universe's?"

"I don't know." She groaned, falling back onto her mattress. "I'm too tired to think about sci-fi space travel."

"Then get up and help me wash our clothes so that we can go to bed." I said tiredly as I stood and went to get my clothes. The day's events started to hit me as my body settled down. Yesterday felt so far away. Have we really only been here less than four days? It's felt like years.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

In the laundry room, Kaity and I shoved our damp clothes into a washer and slammed the top shut. Then we proceeded to stare stupidly at the coin slot next to the start button.

How typical.

I turned my eyes to Kaity who narrowed her own and turned on her heel to stalk out the door. Hopping up onto an empty washer, I waited patiently for her to return with some munny. I felt like a child, humming and swinging my legs back and forth as I drummed my fingers on the machine underneath me. Waves of electricity played across my fingers as I moved them in a concentrated rhythm. I closed my eyes and imagined the energy as it moved through my body and to my hand.

I know, it's weird, but I thought of myself as some sort of battery. The thought made me chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

My eyes snapped open to see Roxas walking toward another empty washer with his arms full of clothes. My heart was hammering in my chest again. I let out the breath I was holding and continued to swing my legs and drum my fingers. I'm so sick of people sneaking up on me.

"Nothing." I said as he stuffed the bundle into the washer.

"Sure it was." He muttered as he pushed some munny into the machine and started it. Satisfied, he went to sit on the table in the center of the room.

I noticed that his hair was a shade darker then it usually was. Still wet from his shower. Since his regular clothes were being tossed about in water, he had on a pair of baggy white sleep pants and a red shirt.

"So, do you do everyone's laundry often or are Riku and Sora just too lazy?" I asked as I lifted my hand and began rolling bolts of energy across my fingers.

"They're lazy bums." He smirked. "What about you?"

"We forgot munny." I explained, pointing to the silent washer next to his. "Kaity went to get some."

As if I had summoned her, Kaity turned around the corner of the doorway with some gold piece's in her hands. She slouched to the washer and fed it. When it began pouring water, she turned around and jumped about a foot in the air.

"Jeez, Roxas!" She snapped. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"I've been known to do that every now and then." He remarked with a laugh.

"Speak next time." She retorted. "What are you doing down here, anyways?"

"Laundry, obviously." He said slowly.

"Shut up, I'm tired. " She sneered.

"I kind of guessed." He grinned. I laughed and pulled my legs up to sit Indian style.

We sat in a silence with few spoken words, waiting. I think I might have fallen asleep at some point because I almost face planted on the floor when a loud beep pierced the air. Kaity laughed at me as she switched our clothes to a dryer. Roxas was moving his load as well. Yawning, I slid off the washer and blinked furious, trying to make my eyes focus. I yelped as I ran nose first into a dryer set above another washer.

Laughter burst from the two behind me as I covered my sore nose. "That's it!" I grumbled. "I'm going to bed. I'll get my clothes in the morning. Goodnight!"

I shuffled out of the room and made my way to the stairs. I wonder what time it is... and why there are no clocks around to tell me so. God knows what time we have to start our day tomorrow.

Reaching the room, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth again (Yes, I'm a freak about my teeth being clean) and to brush and twist my hair into a tight braid. I kicked off my shoes at the foot of my bed and went to triple check that the balcony door was locked. For good measure, I drug over a chair and propped it under the handle. Maybe I'll be able to sleep now.

I threw all of the clutter on the bed into my bag carelessly. I'd deal with it in the morning. Satisfied, I slipped off my jacket, hanging it on the head board, and tucked under the covers, slipping into a heavy sleep.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

It felt like only minutes had passed when a rude banging sound entered my unconscious mind, pulling me back to reality. Grumbling unpleasant threats of mutilation, I pulled my pillow over my head. It didn't help any. I could have sworn I heard a low growl from the bed just a couple feet from me.

"_Time to get up, girls!_" A way to bright voice said from the other side of the door. "_Lots to do and no time to waste!_"

I'm going to kill him.

I watched as Kaity reached to the bedside table between us and picked up the Earth book. Propping herself up slightly, she chucked it at the door.

"Go away!" She yelled.

There was a low rumble of voice's. "_We need to get going._"Another voice said, this one deeper. "_Don't make us break in and make you get up._"

Kaity was already pulling on her gloves. She activated them and created a bunch of small, very sharp, knifes. With another growl, she chucked them at the door too. They each hit and slid through the wood to the hilt of the blade. A chorus of muffled yelps came from the closed door.

There was silence for a moment. "_That's it. We're coming in._"

Irritated, I threw my blankets off and stomped to the door. I yanked it open and glared coldly at Riku, Sora, and Roxas. Electric waves flashed over my skin and made my hair stand up on end. For the first time, I saw actual fear flash through their eyes.

Good. They should be afraid.

"We're up." I seethed. "Now go the hell away!" I slammed the door on their stunned face's.

No, I'm not a morning person.

Silence was all that could be heard as I stalked into the bathroom. A muffled voice said that they'd be waiting downstairs.

Blinking away the tiredness from my eyes, I turned on the water and splashed my face to wake me up. I gasped in shock as the water hit my skin. I forgot to focus the static waves away. Cursing myself, I made the buzz disappear and restarted my morning rituals.

A few minutes later, I came out refreshed and awake. My hair was pulled back today in a high pony tail that waved and gently curled down my back. I brought my dried boots out with me and hit the side of Kaity's legs with them as I passed her bed.

"Get up, Kai."

She grumbled and rolled over.

I watched her. "If you get up and get ready, there will be food in your near future."

This seemed to get her attention. We both were starving. Kaity staggered to her feet and dragged herself away into the bathroom.

When I got up, I had seen the folded pile of clothes at the edge of my bed. Now, I went over to them and changed my clothes. Kaity must have stayed downstairs and brought them back up. Grabbing my bag from where I had thrown it last night, I placed my other clothes inside. I was just putting the Earth book in my bag when Kaity came out and gave me her clothes.

When everything was packed away, I grabbed my bow and put it comfortably across my back along with my bag. Kaity was ready as well. Double checking that we hadn't missed anything, I gave the sign and we left.

We arrived downstairs in the small lobby where the guys were standing by the door talking amongst themselves. They saw us coming and immediately stopped their conversation. My eyes tightened suspiciously. "We're here, we're starving, and ya'll are buying. Let's go." I said, not bothering to stop.

There was a cute little restaurant not far from the hotel, so we stopped there. It turns out that it's actually later then I thought it was. We had missed the breakfast rush and we entered the small building just as the lunch rush was finishing up. We only had to wait a few minutes before we were seated at a corner booth. Kaity and I ordered immediately, picking the first thing we saw on the menus our server handed us.

Finishing my third glass of water, I settled back against the soft fabric of the booth. The guys had just ordered and were now silently debating something between themselves. Quickly growing tired of their reluctance to tell us anything, I folded my hands in my lap and opened the can of worms. "So, I had a little surprise visit last night." I piped in, just loud enough to not be over heard by the other tables around us.

That got their attention. Kaity had her arms folded on the table with her chin resting on top of them. Her eyes were closed and I would have thought she had dozed off, except at my words her body visibly tensed up.

"What?" Roxas asked shocked.

"When?" Sora asked, rising a bit from his seat.

"Who?" Riku asked darkly.

"Last night when we got back to the hotel after I was done showering, Divan broke into our room." I told them, watching their expressions range from outrage to horror. "He was following me from the moment Kaity and I returned, waiting for me to be alone."

"Why didn't you yell for us?" Sora asked, upset.

"I didn't really have time too." I said, keeping my voice low. "It happened so fast...and I had it under control anyways." Yeah, the last part is a lie, but whatever. No need to worry them more. Kaity shot me a narrowed look. She knew I lied. She knew that even if something had happened, I wouldn't have called for them anyways.

Riku sat back in his seat. "What did he want?"

"To talk." I said quietly. "To tell me that he and his master aren't hunting me down anymore. That his master, whoever it is, wants to watch me... to wait until I've reached my full potential."

"That's good, right?" Roxas said, glancing at Riku. "It will give us some time?"

"It should give us some time, yes." Riku said, closing his eyes. I couldn't read his face.

Sora hadn't said anything. I watched him as his face twisted into different emotions as he thought about something. He seemed to be debating something. Trying to decide on what the right thing to do was.

Our food came out, finally, and our conversation was stopped for the moment. I picked through my food, the thought of Divan's visit making me lose my appetite. But I had to eat, so I ate.

"I'm going to tell them."

I looked up at Sora. The spiky haired brunette was staring at Riku with a hard expression. Riku matched that look, ten-fold. After a moment of silently staring the other down, Riku turned to glare at his food, stabbing at it with more force then necessary. A brief flash of triumph went through Sora's eyes. Sora pulled a small, folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

I took it warily. Glancing at Kaity, who inched closer to read what it said, I gently unfolded the cream colored page. Is this what they've been arguing about since we got here? On whether to let us read this paper? Taking a breath, I began to read:

"_I wanted to tell you immediately.  
There are memories asleep inside you.  
Those memory fragments connect to the future.  
Sora, Riku, Kairi,  
the truth surrounding the Keyblade,  
passes through numerous connections,  
which are inside you hearts.  
Sora,  
it all leads to you, and everyone is waiting for you.  
The only one who can heal their sadness is you.  
It's possible that the travels up until now,  
compared to the next trip, may have been easy.  
Everything thought to be accidental was really connected,  
and the door to a new departure already seems to be opening._"

My mouth dropped open in shock. At the foot of the letter was Mickey's seal. This is...

"Oh my... This is the letter from the king! The one you received when you returned to Destiny Islands!" I exclaimed snapping my eyes up to the guys. It didn't seem to surprise them that I knew about it. I looked back at the letter and read through it again. Ever since the ending of the second Kingdom Hearts game, I'd been dying to read the letter. Who would have guessed that I'd read it first hand?

"What does it mean?" Kaity asked, turning to stare at the guys.

"We didn't know what it meant at first." Sora said, leaning back. "That's why Riku and I decided to go see the king."

"Hold on, how long did it take for you to decide to let us read this?" I asked. "When Kaity and I woke up it seemed like you were just about to leave, but in our world you received this letter ages ago." Did time pass faster on Earth? My face paled.

"Well, we would have left weeks ago, but we got held up." Riku said, still hunched over his food.

"The day that we got the letter, I decided to leave again." Sora explained. "But we needed some time to prepare. To collect supplies and leave behind rumors of why we were disappearing again. The morning we had planned on heading out, Roxas just appeared out of nowhere, fast asleep on my bedroom floor."

"That stalled our departure for another couple days because Namine had also appeared as well." Riku put in.

"Then when we had decided that we were finally leaving, Riku found Kaity washed up on the shore." Sora said, after a bite from his food, looking at Kaity. "We stayed to be sure that you were okay before heading out, but then we stumbled across Sam."

"After that, we figured we should stick around until we found out who you two were and what was going on." Riku pushed his plate away and crossed his arms. "When we found out that you were lost, the only option was to take you with us to see the king."

I pulled my legs up to sit Indian style on the seat. I listened intently, taking small sips from my refilled glass of water. Roxas was silent. Huddled in his seat, staring at something no one else could see.

Kaity was a bundle of impatience waiting to explode. "Okay, so, what did the king want? What does this letter mean?"

"The king told us that our journey wasn't over yet. That there were still people that needed help." Sora started. "He told us about something that happened a long time ago, when we were young. There were three students, training to become keyblade masters. One of them received the Mark of Mastery and the other two ran away. One of them, Terra, was being taken by the darkness. Ventus, the youngest, went to try and save him. Aqua, the new keyblade master, was sent to bring back Ventus."

"To make a long story short," Riku cut in. "Their journey was long and hard. The king couldn't tell us much because he wasn't with them for most of the journey, but at the end, they were battling in the Keyblade Graveyard. A desolate world where a long ago battle was fought between keyblade masters for the power of Kingdom Hearts. He said that what happened during that time was what started this whole mess."

I felt dazed. I remembered reading about the new Kingdom Hearts game that came out just a few weeks before I went on the cruise. It was a game telling of the past... ten years in the past. A story of three keybladers. I don't know the whole story line or even the ending, but I know the characters and some of their relations to the present. I knew of the antagonist, but not of what happened to him. The game had just come out. Not enough time had passed for anyone to post walkthrough videos of the games online.

Well, crap.

"The king told us that we needed to go to Yen Sid." Sora said. "That everything will be explained there."

"Okay," Kaity said, looking overwhelmed. "So when did you learn about who Sam and I really were?"

Sora looked to Riku. "That was later," Riku said. "After we had eaten, I went to find Mickey. I wanted to know why he wanted you two to come with us. He told me that you two might be a part of this more then he thought. Then he told me who you two really where and where you were from. Shortly after that, I ran into Sam wondering around the castle."

And now that conversation makes so much more sense. Or at least his emotions behind it.

"I told Sora and Roxas the night Kaity went missing." Riku said.

"So, why do you have to go see Yen Sid?" I asked.

"To receive our Mark of Mastery," Sora said cheerfully. "To become true keyblade masters and fight against this new threat that Yen Sid is supposed to tell us about."

"And to stop the coming war." Riku said solemnly.

_You are the one who will end this war..._

The words startled me. I stared wide eyed at the four people around me. The visions and conversations from the past few days flooded into my mind. I was mentally drowning.

_They fight for control._

_"In you, these powers are stronger, untamed, erratic, and you haven't even realized that you posses such power..."_

_They fight for balance._

_"Although, as these hearts battle through their path, not even Kingdom Hearts can see how this war will end or where their destinies may lead them..."_

_They will rise where many have fallen._

_"Just remember, my dear. There are something's that just cannot be changed...__"_

_They fight for the Kingdom of Kingdoms._

_"He believes that there might be more to you then he previously thought..."_

_They fight for the Key to the Door._

_"... there is a light in her heart. It's blinding... brighter than even Sora's..."_

_They fight for you._

Realization dawned on me. A revelation. I stood up abruptly, knocking the table in the sudden movement. I looked at the others and saw their faces take on the confusion I'm sure that my own face of horror brought.

"We have to go see Yen Sid, now," I said, my voice strained. "I think that Kaity and I are more involved in this then anyone thinks."


	24. Too Much

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Twenty-three: Too Much

Time seemed to drag on as the Magic Train moved through Twilight Town toward our new destination. Solemn, I stared out the window across from the seat I was sitting in to the sun setting on the horizon. The view was beautiful. The blending colors of orange, red, and golden yellow was just right, spanning over the town below. I wish that we could have stayed in the town longer. Just long enough for me to try and render the magnificent sky, but I had a feeling that whatever I did wouldn't give it justice. Sighing, I pulled my attention away and glanced at Kaity sitting beside me. Her faces was blank, so there was no telling what she was thinking about.

A flash of light lit up the train car and we were suddenly moving along a invisible track through a strange space. Curious, I turned to kneel on my seat and look out the window behind me. Swirling golden clouds (or mist?) flowed past us, underneath the train car. Then the car stopped abruptly and I toppled onto Kaity.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, pushing me off onto the floor. "Watch it!"

I stuck my tongue out at her and picked myself up. The five of us exited the train onto a small, grassy piece of land. I looked back over my shoulder to see the train roll away. Abandoning us on this inescapable land.

"Sam!"

I turned and saw the others at the door of a yellow brick tower that rose three or four stories above or heads. Several branches stuck out of the sides below the pointed green roof. None of the windows held a light in them. Wary, I ran up to the others waiting by the door.

"Are you sure someone's home?" I asked cautiously.

"Of course Yen Sid is here." Sora said, pushing open the huge door. "We were summoned, remember?"

I made a exasperated face at him as we all followed him into the tower. Then there were stairs. A lot of stairs. It's like someone is trying to make us work-out with all of this running and walking up and down stairs. By the time we reached the door that would lead us into Yen Sid's study, I was ready to go back to bed.

Sora hesitated outside of the door. Deciding manners were the proper way to go, he lifted his fist to the door and lightly knocked on it.

"Enter." A deep voice said, muffled by the thick wood.

The five of us filed into the small study with Sora leading the way and Roxas bringing up the rear. I stopped a few feet in and wrapped my arms around myself. I don't know why, but the place was giving me chills. My eyes roamed across the room, taking in everything. The many books carefully stacked on shelves and on the ground, small objects the shone in the light coming in from the star and moon shaped windows, and then the desk. The desk that sat in front of us with a old wizard sitting behind it, taking in all of us with his striking blue eyes. Master Yen Sid looked like a rather severe-looking old man with long, grey hair, bushy eyebrows, and a long, grey beard that parted down the middle. The famous, conical sorcerer's hat was on his head, blue and decorated with several yellow stars and a yellow crescent moon.

The old Master waited patiently for us to enter and stand before him. His gaze glided over all of us, pausing only briefly upon Kaity, Roxas, and me. I met his eyes for a moment and instantly regretted it. It felt as if he wasn't looking _at_ me, but _through_ me. A shiver ran up my spine and I looked away.

A moment later, he spoke, "I've been expecting you," He said deeply. "It's about time you decided to come."

Sora sheepishly scratched his neck. "Yeah... we got a little sidetracked."

Yen Sid's eyes flickered to the three of us again. "Yes, I know," He said, looking back at the other two boys. "You are here now, so let's get started."

Rising from behind his desk, Yen Sid lifted his arm to gesture at a door to the left of his desk. I blinked, startled. That hadn't been there a second ago. "I'm afraid the contents of this conversation are for Sora and Riku only. You may wait in the next room."

I scoffed silently. I'm so over the whole secret meeting thing. I turned to Sora and Riku and waved. "See you later."

Kaity must have been feeling fed up with the secret stuff too, because she looked like she was about to throw a fit. I took a hold of her hand and pulled her along behind me to the door. Roxas followed behind and the three of us went through it and up the spiral staircase on the other side.

We came out in a room that was slightly bigger than the one we just left. A fireplace was set into the wall on the left with a few chairs and a couch surround it. Tapestries hung over the stonework of the room, telling unknown stories. The room was furnished in shades of green, purple, and gold. But what really caught my attention was the huge mirror hanging above the fireplace mantle.

The three of us dispersed into the room, checking out various things. I tossed aside my bow and bag into a empty chair and went up to the mirror. I stopped before it, crossed my arms comfortably, and stared up into it. The framework was incredible. So detailed in its vine, leaf, star, and moon pattern. My eyes then went to my reflection. My face twisted as I saw how crappy I looked. My hair was messy, like I had just gotten out of bed and there were light purple bags under my eyes. The only part of my face that didn't look too horrible were my eyes, but even they reflected the tiredness that radiated from me. But it was a different kind of tiredness. Somehow... they seemed older. Like someone who has seen all of the horrors of the world and still lived.

Mesmerized, I reached up and lightly touched the reflection of my eyes. Just to be sure that it was real. A sharp pain snapped in my eyes and I watched in horror as the increasingly familiar gold color swirled across my iris. My breath caught and I snatched my hand back as if I were burned. Shadows crept into my vision and a chill ran down my spine.

..._Sam_...

A sharp pain slammed into my skull. I gasped as my hands flew to my head. I couldn't pull my eyes away from my reflection. I couldn't even blink! I started to back away as the hair beneath my hands began to turn a startling white. Voices filled my head, pushing against my own panicked thoughts.

..._Sam_..._you must_..._please!_...

I opened my mouth in a silent scream. What's happening? It feels like my heart I trying to jump out of my chest!

..._ he's_..._ trouble...Sam...help him...Sam!...SAM!..._

"Sam?"

I shut my eyes and fell to my knees. My head was pounding at the same panicked pace my heart was. Footsteps ran over to me. "Oh my God, Sam!" Kaity knelt next to me and grabbed my shoulders. Roxas stood behind her, lost on what to do. "Breath, okay?" She coached. "In...and out. Just breath. Everything's okay."

"No...pain...voices..." I mumbled incoherently. "Someone's... in trouble..." I worked to control my breathing, forcing my heart to stop trying to break free.

"What?" Kaity asked calmly before shaking her head. "Never mind, you can tell us later. Just... calm down." I made myself do what she said. It took a few moments, but I stabilized. Kaity brushed back some damp strands of hair from my eyes, and I saw relief fill her eyes when I said I was fine. I stayed kneeling there, though.

"What happened?" Roxas asked as he crouched down.

I looked up at him. He looked really worried. I looked away, into the fire. "I don't know." I mumbled. "I...I felt this really sharp pain in my head and... then I heard a voice..."

"What did they say?" Kaity asked, making it so that I looked at her.

"Um..." I said, whipping the heel of my hands across my eyes. "It was really broken up. Like a cell phone call going in and out of service." I explained. "I only caught every other word. My name... and it sounded like someone was asking for help. To help him..."

Kaity and Roxas exchanged a look. "Who's '_him_'?" Kaity asked.

I shrugged and closed my eyes. "I don't know."

Why was all of this happening to me? Kaity and Roxas didn't say anything about my hair or eyes, so I guess they were back to their original color. That was really freaky, though. I felt like I was drowning. Suffocating in the darkness. My fingers unconsciously went to fiddle with my necklace. Kaity noticed and sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to talk about it anymore.

The door on the other side of the room opened and the three of us snapped our heads up to look. Riku and Sora came in with Yen Sid and King Mickey in tow. When did the king get here? The four of them saw us by the fireplace and sent us questioning looks. We stood up and I cleared my throat and hoped that I didn't look like I had just been through an episode.

"It's time for Sora and I to face the Mark of Mastery." Riku announced. "To become true Keyblade Masters." There was a new fire in his eyes... determination, maybe?

"How?" Kaity asked, moving over to them.

"We have to face a challenge to prove that the light in our hearts is true." Sora said, crossing his arms across his chest. "By facing the darkness in our hearts."

"How will you do that?" I asked, moving to stand by Kaity.

Yen Sid moved the boys, "Come," He said, opening a door on the other side of the room. The three of us followed Riku, Sora, and the king into the room. We entered a circular room about as big as Yen Sid's study. Two beds were set against a wall, across from the other. A window in the shape of a moon sat in the wall between the two beds. On the other side of the beds were bookcase's set into the walls with tons of books stacked on the shelves.

"Riku and Sora will face their challenge inside of their dreams," Yen Sid explained as he stopped in the center of the room. "To receive the Mark, they must face the darkness and find their way back to waking world on their own."

...Interesting challenge. Why not just make them fight one another? "How long will that take?" I asked glancing between the old master and the boys.

"As long as it needs too." Yen Sid rumbled.

Riku and Sora walked over to either bed and stood beside them. Sora looked up to us and half smiled. "See you later," he smiled, laying down on the bed. Yen Sid lightly touched Sora's forehead and drew a line down to touch his heart. I blinked as a sudden weight fell upon my head and heart as Sora's eyes closed and he drifted off into sleep. Strange... I feel all dizzy. Like I was the one that was supposed to be sleeping.

Yen Sid moved over to Riku, who was lying down already and staring at the ceiling. "Goodnight," I said quietly. Riku shifted his eyes to me and smirked as Yen Sid sent him to sleep as well. I groaned as the weight doubled, making it hard to keep my eyes open. I lifted a hand to my temples. Yen Sid turned and saw me struggling with the weight and a strange look came over his face.

"Sam... I would like to speak to you." He said, turning to the others. "Privately." There was a bit of an edge to his voice. A brief flutter of fear flew up my spine. What did I do?

A look of protest over came Kaity's face and she opened her mouth to say something, but Roxas took her wrist and pulled her out of the room. She shouted in surprise and the king followed. I opened my mouth to protest for Kaity, but sighed in defeat as the door closed. Reluctant, I turned to look at the retired Keyblade Master and wizard. What would he want to talk to me about?

I watched him warily, waiting for him to speak, but he just walked over to the window and stared out to the universe. Impatient now, I went to the bed Sora was sleeping on and sat down. I was so tired. I watched Sora's chest rise and fall as he breathed. I wonder what he's dreaming about...

"History," Yen Sid finally said. "Keeps her secrets longer than most of us. But she has one secret that I will reveal to you tonight in the greatest confidence. Sometimes there are no winners at all." He turned to face me, a brightness in his eyes. "And sometimes nobody needs to lose."

I didn't say anything. I hope that he didn't expect me too. Deciding to just keep my eyes down, I folded my hands in my lap and waited for whatever he was going to unleash upon me. I didn't want to accidently tick off one of the most powerful wizards in the universe. That would really suck.

"The moment you entered this tower, I felt your heart. Even through the shield that has been cast around it. I sensed the light...and the darkness..." I tightened my folded hands into fists. I didn't like other people talking about my darkness problem. "It has been a long, long time since I have felt such power."

A bit of his blue robe fluttered into my vision as he turned back to the window. "Everything is connected. That will never change, however...everything else will never be the same.

"From what I am told, you and your friend are from another universe. The original source of all power." I looked up at the old wizard. "I know much about the histories of this universe. I know how close it resides to your's. However, I never thought that the two might pull the other across the line." His hand lifted and brushed down his long beard, as if in thought. "This troubles me deeply. To cross that line means that there is more to this story then I expected. That times have become far worse than I have seen."

Worse? "Master Yen Sid," I said quietly. "I don't understand what is happening to Kaity and me. I know our place and what has happened to create such a divided between our universe's, but why are we here? What help are we? I'm an artist, Kaity sings and acts! How can we save anyone if we can't even save ourselves?" I blurted out.

Yen Sid was silent, thinking. "Twelve years ago," He began, "There were three young Keyblade Masters who lost themselves in the darkness. Master Xehanort made sure of that. He has condemned many for the success of his own ambitions. Using their lives for his own goal. Manipulating them...

"We have searched all these years for the whereabouts of these poor hearts. Every trail we have followed has ended in disappointment. It wasn't until the journeys of these two young men here that we received any signs. I never thought that it would come to this though..."

"To what?" I asked when he didn't continue.

He turned to me. "It is not yet time to reveal everything. You will learn only what you need to know now.

"The three Masters names were Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. They were trained together under the guidance of Master Eraqus, one of the most powerful Masters in time. He knew many of the mysteries of this universe and sought to keep them just that. Secret.

"We have located the whereabouts of Ven and Aqua's hearts." He admitted. "We need only locate Terra now. But I fear that this goal will be even more difficult than before... with what has recently happened."

"What has happened?" I asked carefully.

"An old enemy has returned to corrupt this universe once again." He said gravely.

"Who is it?" I asked exasperated.

"It is Master Xehanort."

"What?" I gasped, jumping up from the bed. "How's that possible? Sora defeated his heartless _and_ his nobody! He should be gone forever!"

"When the embodiment of the heart and vessel have been destroyed, the original body will be incarnated," He explained. "And I fear that he is not alone this time..."

"What do you mean?" Not alone? Who else could he have with him?

"Even I am not quite sure." He said, looking over the two sleeping boys. "You and your friend's appearance is not a coincidence. Somehow, you are tied into this. Sora and Riku informed me of the recent happenings and what they interpret them to mean. The king has voiced his theories as well. Now..." He trailed off, turning to stare at me with hard eyes. "I would like to know what you have been hiding."

Hiding? I stared blankly at Yen Sid. I still couldn't get past the fact that Master Xehanort had returned. And there were _more_ than just him? My legs finally gave out and I was sitting on the floor with my knees pulled up close. How could this have happened? All that trouble everyone went through to make sure he was gone and now he's _back_? This is just perfect. We're in some seriously deep crap.

"I don't understand," I said hollowly. "I'm not hiding anything."

"Oh, but you are," He said matter-of-fact. "Your heart says differently. Why don't you start with the happenings at Castle Oblivion? For us to know how to play the game, we must first know what we are up against."

The game? I looked up at him. "Uh...well, at Castle Oblivion, Kaity and I were ambushed by four human formed heartless. All being the other half's of Nobodies Sora had defeated in the past." I shook my head. "God knows how many more there are. Divan wasn't to inclined to tell me." A strange feeling went through me at the thought of the dark haired boy. "And then there is the master the Divan talks about. I don't know who it is though..."

"This master..." He mused. "It must be Xehanort. Already, he has attained another apprentice..."

"How do you know that Xehanort is the 'master'?" I asked.

"History..." He rumbled, turning away. "Has a way of repeating itself..."

Vague much? I groaned and dropped my head into my knees. This was so much worse than I thought.

Divan is working for a crazy Keyblade Master that wants to use me to conquer this universe and probably mine as well. Just perfect. To go with everything, I have to help save some lost hearts, stop a coming war that, by the way, is a war over _me_, and fight the darkness in my heart that every second grows stronger? I just had a panic attack not five minutes ago when the darkness attacked me! I am in way over my head. God, I thought all of this was Sora's job.

I looked over to Sora as he slept soundly. It is his job. All of it. Not mine. But... I'm a part of it. For some reason, through whatever connection I have to him, I was brought here for him. "I'm here for Sora," I said softly. "I don't know how or why, but to win this war... he can't do it alone." There is a reason I'm here. I can do something that Sora can't. "I guess... that's what friend are for."

"Yes," Yen Sid admitted. "Sora is the only one who can truly free them all. Now, how do know about a war?"

Um," I mumbled, turning away from his accusing stare. My fingers found my necklace and began to fiddle with it. "I-I had a... vision about... a, uh, war." I muttered quietly.

"No one has mentioned this," He stated hollowly.

"Well, I hav-haven't really told anyone... yet." I stuttered.

It was quiet. Suddenly, a wave of power rolled over and past me. I gasped and looked up to the old wizard. He was angry. My breath caught in my throat and I scrambled to my feet, taking a step back around Sora's bed. Better to put some distance between us.

"You had a vision of a war," He said, his voice hard. "And you decided not to tell anyone? Why?"

"I had the vision in Castle Oblivion," I explained hurriedly. "In a strange room called the Room of Reflection. I saw a war between us and them. It... it was horrifying." A chill went down my spine as the memory of said vision came to mind.

His expression changed to one of comprehension. Like he knew what I was talking about. Did he know about the room? "Do you know what was being fought over? Specifically?" He demanded.

"Uh, yeah," I said, not meeting his gaze. "Its... uh, the war is a fight for... um, me..." I finished quietly.

"You?"

I looked at him. He seemed confused. "I don't know why, but that's what I saw." I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "At first, I thought that the bad guys wanted me for my relation to Namine and my ability to manipulate her powers. Now... I'm not so sure. I think that there's more to it than that."

"What would make you think that?" He asked deeply.

"I don't know," I muttered, pressing a had to my head. I was getting a headache. "I don't know anything. I just feel like I'm being played."

The silence stretched on for a few moments. It made me wonder what he was thinking about. I didn't dare look up though. Intimidation and shame kept me looking at my shoes and my hand pressed to my forehead.

"Sora...is the key." Yen Sid finally said. "There is a energy that surrounds you that is close to the same frequency as his. However... it is dim. As though it is not yet your time to assist this universe."

"Then why am I here?" I sighed, looking up at him.

"You are not yet ready to help." He stated. "Sora and Riku have had to mature rapidly over these past few years. They understand now what has to be done and will make it happen to achieve their goals. You do not yet understand this."

_Yeah..._I sighed in my thoughts. I winced and put my hand back to my temples as another sharp pain sliced through my head. God, it really hurt. I shut my eyes closed tight and put my other hand to the wall to steady myself. A slight burn washed over my eyes. What's happening? Why am I suddenly being pelted with these pains?

I didn't notice him approach me, but I felt the light weight of his hand touch the top of my head. At once, the pain vanished and the burning went away. Yen Sid backed away as I lifted my head, bewildered. "How..." I breathed, confused.

"Something has been trying to contact you," He explained thoughtfully. "Desperately, I might add. That charm," He said looking to my necklace. "Is a shield. A magical object that protects your heart by hiding its true power behind an illusion of an average heart." His hand slid down his long gray beard thoughtfully. "I suspected that when I saw it, but wasn't sure. Someone... is making sure that you are protected."

I watched as he went into a thoughtful silence and turned back to stare out the window. My fingers twirled the pendent around. So, it's a protection charm. How interesting. I traced the intricate design that was set into the moon. Kaity's must be protecting her heart as well. Now that I think about it, Ienzo had said something about not being able to sense the energy in our hearts. That they were being blocked by something.

A bolt of shock ran up my spine as a thought struck me. When I went to Castle Oblivion, I wasn't wearing the necklace. I had left it with Riku in Radiant Garden. That's why Ienzo could read my heart when I entered the castle. There was no shield protecting my heart.

Then, out of nowhere, Yen Sid turned and headed for the door. "Take this time to reflect and decide who you must be and what you must do. Perhaps you will learn something."

And he was gone, leaving behind more questions than answers.

I ran a hand down my face and sunk to the floor, pulling my knees close and resting my forehead on them. Closing my eyes, I listened to the breathing of Riku and Sora. At moments, ones breath would pick up, slow down, and hitch. It was like they were fighting. When they finally wake up, what new horrors will they bring with them?

Light footsteps walked slowly into the room. A few seconds later, someone sat next to me with a sigh. Another set of steps came in and hesitated before moving to Sora's bed. I took a deep breath and moved to rest my head on Kaity's shoulder. I spared Roxas a glance and saw him sit down at the foot of Sora's bed. Kaity leaned her head against mine in an attempt to comfort me. "You okay?" she asked softly.

"No," I mumbled.

Roxas looked over at me when I said that and a strange emotion washed over his face. I looked away. I felt like I was intruding on a private thought. "What are we going to do, Kai?" I whispered.

Kaity took a deep breath, "About all of this free time we suddenly have or about the whole you being the bad guys most wanted?"

"Both."

"I don't know, Nami," she sighed. "I don't know."

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Silver moonlight washed across the blankets of my bed. I laid wide awake, staring out the star shaped window in the wall. How many hours have I been lying here? Unable to sleep? Every time I closed my eyes, darkness would consume me and a evil laugh would echo through my mind. It scared me. A lot.

Turning over onto my other side, I watched Kaity sleep peacefully. A wave of envy washed over me. What I would give to sleep right now instead of being forced to remain awake and think. Huffing, I kicked the blankets off of me and sat up. Brushing my fingers through my hair and straightening my borrowed tank-top and sleep pants, I slipped off the bed to my feet. With a last look at Kaity, I quietly snatched up my bag and slipped out of the room.

The fireplace here never seemed to dim or go out. How convenient. I flopped down into the chair that faced away from our temporary bedrooms and dug through my bag. Pulling out my sketchbook and pencils, I criss-crossed my legs in the chair and flipped to my work-in-progress. Right now, the picture just showed the outline of two eyes and a nose. I picked out a pretty golden colored pencil and set to work. They were my eyes. The alien eyes that appeared whenever the darkness got to close to my heart.

I must have been working on that picture for an hour. With every stroke of my pencils, the strange image of that other me came alive. Why am I changing into this image? What does it mean? The white hair...the gold eyes... was I turning into some kind of monster?

No. No, I wasn't becoming a monster. I was just...

I set down my pencils and looked over the picture. How could Namine do this? Draw all of this and be okay with not knowing what it means. Just knowing that somehow it's important.

"Can't sleep?"

I gasped and whipped around to see Roxas walking over in his sleep pants and shirt. "God, Roxas," I hissed. "What are you? Part ninja?"

He smirked, making my heart skip a few beats. "I spoke this time, didn't I?" He stood over my chair, resting his arms on the top and peering down at my book. "That's... interesting."

I looked down. "It's a monstrosity. " I muttered bitterly, shutting the sketchbook with more force then necessary.

"What inspired it?"

I didn't answer. What would I have said? That it's me when I am being infected by the darkness?

Roxas sensed my hesitation and despair. He moved around the chair and knelt down until he was eyelevel with me. I turned my head away, not willing to meet his eyes. Afraid of what he would find there. I was a really easy person to read. Besides, what if my eyes suddenly decided to change color again? I closed them for good measure. I felt his hand try to turn my face toward him, but I turned further away. "Roxas... there's something wrong with me."

"What makes you say that?"

I opened my eyes and looked at him, confused. "Uh, have you not noticed?"

He didn't say anything this time. Scoffing, I pushed past him to stand up. My pencils and sketchbook fell carelessly to the ground. I walked over to stand in front of the fire, refusing to look up past the mantel to the mirror above. "I can't sleep because every time I close my eyes, I see golden ones staring back at me." I whispered to the crackling flames. It was a struggle to keep from breaking completely down. "It feels like someone is trying to tear me apart from the inside out. Like a battle is raging inside..." I shook my head slightly. "Something is happening... I can feel it."

Silence followed for a moment before Roxas let out a frustrated groan behind me. I turned to see him rubbing his eyes in aggravation. "Ugh...this is maddening."

_Okay...what?_, I thought confused.

He dropped his hand and looked at me. "Ever since the day I met you and Kaity, there has been this weird pull in me." He admitted, running a hand through his tangled hair. "Like..."

"Like what?" I asked when he didn't continue.

"Nothing."

Roxas sat down on the left side of the couch and stared past me into the fire. There was a strange expression on his face, like he was struggling with something in his thoughts. He almost seemed wretched. "'Nothing can come of nothing.'" I quoted, sitting next to him, turned somewhat with my knees on the cushion. "It's okay, you know..." I said quietly. "You can trust me. That is... if you ever want to talk..."

He turned his eyes to mine. "I know."

I was lost again. Lost inside the endless depth of his eyes. But... instead of the usual content light hidden in them, melancholy was all I saw. A wave of shock hit me. "Roxas?" I whispered, concerned. I reached out to try and comfort him, but froze with my hand in mid-air. I bit my lip and adverted my eyes, pulling my hand back into my lap. It's not my place.

Roxas saw my hesitation and, surprisingly, grinned softly back. He lifted his own hand and brushed away some loose hairs out of my face, tucking them behind my ear. "You like me, don't you?"

A tremor of something that felt like a mixture of fear and shock flooded my mind. What? Did he really just ask that? I felt my cheeks warm immensely. "That is not a question that you ask a girl." I snapped back sharply.

He looked a little taken aback by my response. "I only asked because... I think I like you, too." He confessed, a light pink dusting his cheeks.

So many thoughts and emotions ran through my mind and heart in that one moment of silence. Then another thought hit me, freezing everything and turning it into a rolling sadness. Of course... why hadn't I seen it before? It was so obvious.

"It's Namine, " I said, closing my eyes. "There's a part of her in me. That's why you feel a pull toward me." _And probably why I feel a pull toward you..._, I thought bitterly. God I'm so stupid. A foolish high school girl.

Roxas was silent. "No," He said after a moment. "I don't think it's that."

I opened my eyes, confused. "What do you mean? How could it not?"

"I know how I feel about Namine," He said, softly. "This feels different. My feelings for Namine come from my heart. But this... it feels like it's coming from another place. A deeper and stronger place."

I small smile pulled at my lips. I pulled my legs up onto the couch and crossed them under me. "Yeah...me, too." He was right. These feelings were coming from a deeper place as well as my heart.

"Here," He said, shifting a bit to reach into a pocket. He pulled back his hand with something silvery dangling from it. "This is for you."

I shot him a look and took the object from his hand, letting it sprawl in my hand. It was a necklace. Very simple looking. A delicate silver chain looped across my skin while a light weight silver pendent rested in the middle of my palm. It was half of a broken heart. I turned the pendent over and saw golden letters inscribed into the silver. From top to bottom, it read: _'Not ev...can...ap..._'

My eyes brows scrunched together in confusion. What is it supposed to say? "Roxas..."

"I saw it in a shop in Radiant Garden," He went on, nervously rubbing his neck. "I thought it was nice and then this feeling just came over me." He shrugged, sheepish. "I felt like you should have it."

"Where's the other half?" I asked as I traced the broken edge.

"It wasn't there."

_Strange_, I thought, looking down at the object. _To buy one half and not the other..._

"If you don't like it," Roxas said hastily. "I'm sure you could return it or something. Or you could-"

"Roxas," I said, silencing his rambles by pressing a finger to his lips. I pulled away, smiling softly. "I think it's sweet," I assured him. I held out the necklace. "Can you put it on me?"

He took it from me and I turned around, giving him my back. I pulled off my other necklace and threw it over to my bag. I would be fine without it for one night. I pulled my hair up so it wouldn't get caught and Roxas pulled the piece of jewelry around my neck, clipping it securely. I dropped my hair and let my hand fall to the new piece of silver. I closed my eyes and noticed that a slight pulse of energy seemed to circle the pendent. It was comforting... like a little heart beat...

I turned around to say something, but a huge yawn burst from me. It left a huge cloud of drowsiness over my thoughts and made it difficult to keep my eyes open.

"Okay, bed time."

Then I was suddenly being pulled backwards by a set of hands. I yelped as I landed comfortably on my side, lying next to Roxas on the couch. My face warmed. "Uh...Roxas?"

He hummed tiredly in response.

"Uh..."I didn't know what to say. _He wants to sleep out here? With me lying next to him?_, I thought as my face tried to resemble a cherry.

Roxas lifted his head. "Are you okay with this?" He asked. "I figured that you probably wouldn't get much sleep if you were alone. I've noticed that you think way to much when you're on your own."

As easy to read as a book. That's me. "No... this is fine." I murmured, tucking my chin against my chest and closing my eyes. Kaity is going to get a kick out of this.

Roxas laid down his head, tucking one arm under his head and draping another over my side. A moment later, his breathing slowed into a deep sleep.

My blush followed me into sleep as I synced my breathing with his. I fell into sleep, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart, before remembering that he shouldn't have one.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

My dreams took me to an empty, white space. Dimly aware of what was happening, I wondered around aimlessly. A invisible breeze lifted my hair and caressed my skin. It was a soft breeze. Warm.

A figure appeared in the distance. I noticed and turned to the shape. As I approached, I saw spiky blonde hair. I stopped in surprise. "Roxas?"

The figure lifted his head and turned to look at me, but before I could speak again, my vision became blurry and darkness washed over me.

"Sam."

I turned in the darkness and saw Namine standing a few feet away, smiling. "Namine?" I said, walking over to her. "What just happened?"

"Something that a lot of people have been waiting on for a very long time," She smiled brightly. "However, now is not the time for you to learn what it was. I've come to speak with you."

"Okay," I said, brushing some hair out of my eyes. "Shoot."

"My time to leave this universe is coming," she said, tucking her hands behind her back. "It's time for me to tell you everything I can."

"Your time?" I questioned. Then I gasped in understanding, "No, Namine! You can't leave!"

She smile sadly. "I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time, " She told me. "The only way for Sora to help me is by finally obtaining the part of himself that I still hold inside of me." She lifted a hand to her heart. "With it, he will come to learn everything I know, everything he had forgotten, and everything that he will need to know to win this war. It all won't come to him at once, but in time it will."

"If that's all you needed to do to be free, why haven't you joined with Sora already?" I asked.

"Because I needed to wait for you. To tell you of what you need to know to help him."

I looked at her, sadly. "What will happen to you?"

She smiled softly. "I don't know."

I closed my eyes and a tear shed down my cheek. I felt Namine brush it away and grab my hand. "Come, there is much to talk about."

She pulled my foreword. When I opened my eyes, I didn't see the darkness around us. No, somehow we were transported to Namine's white room at the mansion in Twilight Town. She released my hand and we both sat in the only two available chairs in the room, set across from one another at the ends of a long white table. I settled on the cold seat and watched patiently as Namine gathered her thoughts. "I need to tell you more about Dierdra and your connection to her." She began. I nodded and she took a deep breath.

"When the shadows descended upon Radiant Garden, Dierdra was saved by a warrior and sent with a group with a group of refugees to another world, Traverse Town, to be exact." She began. "She was one of the few children that made it to that world. As she grew older, she learned to fight the darkness and was a cherished warrior. However...when the king was sent out to find her and bring her back to begin her training to become a Keyblade Master, she went missing. The only witness of her disappearance was a fourteen-year-old boy. Not long after, this boy went missing as well.

"I fear that Dierdra is truly gone from this universe. I believe that her heart and soul have completely joined together with yours." She admitted softly. "The only way for that to happen is if she was completely destroyed by the darkness and willingly went through the link you both share. I think this is the reason why your eyes shift to another color. The subconscious part of your mind that is Dierdra surface's and allows a easier path for the darkness to connect to you because she is mostly darkness."

It took me a moment to take in what Namine was saying, but it all made sense. It would explain so much. The weird pull from the shadows... why there is more darkness in my heart then average. "Okay," I breathed, "I understand."

"The thing is... I'm afraid that this connection is only going to make it harder to face down Master Xehanort." Namine said somberly. "He will use the darkness in that connection to hold you. Use it against you and manipulate you with it. If you are to help Sora, then there can be nothing holding you."

Everything was just becoming more and more difficult. "What can you tell me about Master Xehanort?"

Namine hesitated at my question. "Xehanort..." She seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "He has become far more than a simple Keyblade Master. Far more than just being human..."

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

"Xehanort is the first to ever come back from the darkness. His heart... it's infected by the darkness, allowing him to perform abilities unlike anything ever seen. This power has given him the strength to call on and divide his heart and soul. To create versions of himself."

"What?" I gasped, rising from my chair. "You mean that there's more than one of him?"

"Yes," She confirmed fearfully.

This information ran through me like a freight train. More than one monster was after us. After the universe. My knees gave out and I fell back heavily into my chair.

"He's so strong," Namine said, shutting her eyes tight. "His power has been multiplied by the darkness. He still wants to take over everything. Including all of the other universe's. But he can't. No matter what power he has, it's not enough. He needs to possess a even stronger power to control so many hearts. To be able to create a whole new world in his image.

"That's why he wants you, Sam," She said, meeting my eyes. "He found out about your strange abilities... the rare connection you hold. With you, he can accomplish his goals. To defeat him, it will take more than Riku, Sora, and the king. That's the reason why you need to find Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. To win this war, every keyblade wielder has to fight."

My mind was taking way to much information today. I swear, it feels like my brain is going to melt down and start leaking out of my ears. "But can't Xehanort find and use you too?"

She smiled guiltily. "That is another reason why I am leaving. By my rejoining with Sora, it will give Sora more strength, but will also leave no loop holes for Xehanort to find." Her smile vanished. "Yes, this act is extremely selfish, but it is what must be done. As much as I hate to admit it, he needs to go after you. It's the way this story unfolds."

I leaned my elbows on the table and held my head in my hands. Everything is so messed up.

"Sora will know all of this when we wakes up," She stated. "Right now, he's beginning to discover what it will take to bring this darkened time to a end." She stood and walked over to me. I looked up as she approached."There is so much more for you to know, but we've run out of time."

"Namine..." I said warily, standing up as well.

"Please...take care of Roxas." She said with a small smile. With our eyes locked, Namine lifted a hand to my forehead and laid a single finger on my skin.

At once, a severe pain burst in my head and flashes of light passed over my eyes. I cried out and fell to my knees. Bright images slide in through my eyes to my mind. The visions kept coming faster and faster. I couldn't tell what they were. But I saw something...

White hair...and golden eyes. Lea standing under a heart shaped moon. Divan hiding in the shadows, weapon in hand. A dark haired boy, walking through a heavy rain. I saw a kingdom. A kingdom filled with a stunning light that slowly turned gray and disappeared into the darkness...

I see a light... it's so warm...


	25. The Train

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts

* * *

Chapter Twenty-four: The Train

_Alright_, I thought as I groaned and sat up. _These vision things have got to stop._

Rubbing away the bleariness from my eyes, I tried to figure out where I was now. I expected to find myself on the floor of the sitting room in the Mysterious Tower, but that wasn't where I was. I was still dreaming. Brilliant.

I was sitting in the center of a circular room with about a dozen doors surrounding me. It reminded me of the way J.K. Rowling described the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter books. Except here, everything was bright white. Curious, I stood and spun around slowly. What a strange place...

The ends of my hair lifted and tickled my shoulders, moved by a sudden breeze. I turned and say a door standing wide open. A bright light emitted from it, beckoning. Cautious, I walked toward it and stopped outside of it. This is only a dream...

Gathering my wits, I took a step through the door...

...and walked through into a moving train car.

Well, that was...interesting.

I spun around, confused. The door to the white room was gone. That's a little freaky. Then again, it is a dream.

The train car was an old fashioned lounge car. I'd say from around the mid-nineteenth century. Out past the windows on one side, grassy fields and leafy woods passed by. It was really pretty. I went to look out the other side, but my eyes were caught by a sudden glimpse of golden yellow.

A few seats in front of me, a boy with golden yellow hair sat gazing out the windows.

Roxas?

I rushed over to the booth. "Roxas, what-"

The boy turned around, halting me in my tracks. It wasn't Roxas. My eyes widened in embarrassment. The boy didn't look at all like a boy, he looked like he was only a year or two older than me. I stared at him, shocked. Light blonde hair, no longer then his ears, softly waved in the wind of his turn and settled just above his eyes. It was the same golden yellow as Roxas' hair. As well as the blue of his eyes. However... his face was different. Sharper and more striking.

"I'm so sorry." I said, fumbling for words. "I-I thought you were someone else."

"That's okay," the guy said. His voice was smooth, enunciating every syllable... like a singer or actor would. "I actually thought you were someone else as well." He admitted with a sheepish smile.

I found myself grinning like a fool at his smile. It was so genuine and bright. "What's your name?" I asked, curious.

The guy stood up from his seat and tucked a hand into the pockets of his jeans. "'What's in a name?'" He quoted cordially, reaching up with his free hand to pull a lock of my hair through his fingers. "'That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.'"

_Shakespeare_, I thought with a smile. I nodded once in appreciation. "An actor, then."

"Indeed, I am," he grinned. His eyes slipped shut and he took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "There is something different about you. You radiate a brilliant light... strong and warm." He opened his eyes and his smile turned into a smirk. "Not unlike your beautiful smile."

I blushed. _A charmer, this one is_, I thought. Who was this guy?

In a second, the guy seemed to change into another person right before my eyes. Easily slipping into a Shakespearian romantic. He brought his hand up to his chin, as if contemplating something. "'Shall I compare thee to a summers day?'" He questioned, walking slowly around me. I wrapped my arms around myself, tracking his every move. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate: rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date...'" He quoted softly as he finally stood before me again. "Which I feel will end soon, however much I wish not."

My face had been burning warmer and warmer this whole time. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. It would not be attractive at all if I died of a heart attack while some guy flirted with me.

That's when I spotted her. A girl with dark hair sitting at the back of the train car.

I looked back to the guy and smiled softly. He was right, this meeting will end soon. And you know what? I can quote as well. "'Sweet, so would I, yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.'" I quoted back with a sigh. "'Goodnight, goodnight! Parting in such sweet sorrow, that I shall say goodnight 'till it be morrow.'"

The guy smirked, amused, and took a hold of my hand, leaning down to kiss the top of it gently. "Then it shall be." He said, standing up. "Until we meet again."

Dazed, I stumbled away from the strange guy who with just a few phrase's captured my heart. What is wrong with me? A silly grin was plastered to my face the whole time I cross the car. I shook my head in an attempt to clear my thoughts. I stopped at the very last booth on the left, unsure if I should sit or not.

The dark haired girl turned her golden eyes to me and gestured to the seat opposite her. "Sit, there is a lot to talk about."

So I did. Only after I sneaked a last look at the mysterious blonde guy, of course. The girl saw my glance and smiled with a small laugh. "He's a wonderful guy," she said, nodding at him. "Very charming and honest. A good heart. You have good taste."

"All he would say were quotes. I think he's an actor." I said, pulling my feet up in to the seat. "That or he likes to read."

The girl hummed in thought, tilting her head slightly to the side. "'The first casualty when war comes is truth.'" She quoted, looking at me.

"Hiram Johnson," I said. "Interesting choice."

She shrugged, "It fits."

The girl pulled her legs up into her seat like I did and leaned back against the cool material. Her face lit up in a breathtaking smile and held out her hand. "I'm Dierdra," She stated. "It's nice to finally meet you officially."

"Sam," I said politely, taking her hand and shaking it once. "Likewise. So, how are you here? Better yet, where is here?"

"You're still asleep," She said, confirming my theory. "You have just finally figured how to look inside of yourself for a change. This," She said, waving her hand around the train car, "is your heart."

"A moving train car is my heart?" I questioned skeptically.

"For others, its sometimes their home or a castle. There have even been hearts depicted as a mountainous landscape or the sea," She shrugged. "For you, it's a moving train car. Always in motion. Always heading to the next destination, never staying to long in one place. That's why change has never really bothered you all that much."

"I thought that hearts where balls of light or darkness or something." I said, lifting a hand to gesture about. "So where is my light?"

Dierdra pointed out of the train car window at the sky.

"The sun?" I gasped.

"Yup, this train circles it, protecting it from the darkness," her eyes flickered to the other side of the train. I looked and saw what seemed to be storm clouds on the horizon. Nasty, dark clouds. "For the darkness to reach the light, it has to come through here," she said, waving at the door behind her.

"What happens when it gets through?"

"I beat it to a pulp," she smirked. "That's my duty in your heart. I protect the light."

I nodded. That would make sense. "Who's he, then?" I asked, indicating the blonde guy with my head. "What's his purpose here?"

Dierdra smiled softly. "He's someone that is going to be very close to your heart. When he showed up a few days ago, the light in your heart became brighter and the darkness abated a bit."

Someone close to my heart? Like... will I fall in love with that guy some day? My cheeks warmed again at the thought. Dierdra laughed, "Each car of this train represents a level of your heart. Depending on how close you are to a person, how much you love them, decides which car they ride in. I've met your sister and some of your friends," she admitted. "But when you have a fall out with someone and you lose your love for them, they get off the train and wander into the darkness."

I stared silently out the window. No matter how much I wanted to continue discussing the mysteries of my heart, I had to get some answers. "What happened to you, Dierdra?"

Dierdra folded her hands in her lap and looked away. "I got lost."

"Lost?" I questioned, watching her.

"Yeah, after Radiant Garden was gone and I was taken away... I became so angry with everything," she shut her eyes, hiding whatever emotion that was in them. "First, my best friend was taken away, then my family, and finally, my home. I was destroyed. I lost everything.

"I learned how to fight. I trained in all the skill I could. Guns, swords, combat... I fought the darkness with fury. I fought against the thing that so many had fallen too. That's when I started to realize I was different. I was stronger than the others. At the end of the day, the others would talk about how strong the darkness had felt to them. It never felt strong to me." A quick smile crossed her lips and was gone. "They used to tell me that it was my bratty attitude that scared all of the darkness away. But it was more than that...

"That's about the time when I met him," she said, looking up at me. "The boy who saved me from my own darkness."

"Who was it?"

"He was a boy, just a bit older than me," she said. "His name was Divan."

My jaw dropped. "What?" I gasped. "How-wha-"

Dierdra put a finger to my lips to shut me up. "Divan wasn't always who he is today," she said softly. "He's lost, too. When we met, he was like me. Homeless and fighting the only thing he could. But... there was a anger in him that allowed the darkness to seep in. Vengeance," she said, looking away, "can do that to a person."

A surge of emotions passed across her eyes. I sat in silence, patiently waiting for her to continue. "Divan wasn't from Radiant Garden," she finally said. "He came to Traverse Town from another world. He lost everything like I had. We shared the same need to avenge our worlds for what the darkness did to them. Then when I disappeared... he sought to avenge me. Opening his heart even more to the darkness."

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"Divan was with me when I disappeared." She said, not looking at me. "A neo shadow he had been fighting got away. It ran past me and snagged my shirt, pulling me into the darkness with it. He couldn't do anything to save me, he was too far away. Guilt ebbed away at him from that day. He wanted to look for me in the darkness, but couldn't find a way in. Now the darkness has completely taken over his heart and he's tied to that crazy, old git."

True anger flashed in her eyes at the mention of Xehanort. Closing her eyes, she calmed herself and looked back at me. "I met a lot of people in the realm of darkness," she said. "Even you."

Me? I was in the realm of darkness?

"Your spirit body was sitting next to the sea in the Dark Margin," she said absently. "Just... sitting there. It was...strange when I first saw you. I felt something inside of me, here." She laid a hand on her heart. "Just a tiny bit of warmth, like a small flame. I realized that it was... hope. When I asked who you were, you said you didn't know." Dierdra lowered her hand to her lap. "I asked, 'What are you doing here?', you said 'I'm waiting for someone'. When I asked who, you said 'I don't know, but... they'll come here and wake me up'. Then I laid a hand on your shoulder and a warmth went through me and a light appeared out of the darkness of the water. We walked through it and I woke up here. In your heart."

"I don't understand, are you dead?" I asked, confused.

"Yes," she said, meeting my eyes, "and no. The heartless that pulled me in left me horribly weak. The darkness inside of me wasn't helping, either. The darkness was eating away at me, little by little. When I found you, I was hardly alive. Although I was physically in the darkness, you were spiritually there. By my joining you, it helped you obtain a spirit to fight. You overcame your demons and I battle the darkness that tries to take your heart."

I was silent for a minute, thinking everything through. She had died, going into that realm. The last of her being latched onto me, the most compatible since I was her other. To me, it sounded like someone had ment for this to happen, not just a chance meeting. "Dierdra, what am I supposed to be doing?"

"So much has been lost... even the once mighty kingdom has gone into hiding, in fear of being destroyed. Sam... there is so much to do in so little time. If you just listen to your heart," she smiled softly, "you will find your answer."

BANG!

Crying out, I jumped up from my seat. The sound came from the door next to us, echoing through the car. Dierdra stood and moved toward the door, lying a hand upon it. Another bang reverberated from the door. Dierdra gasped and stumbled backwards, turning to me.

"Listen, Sam, don't ignore the darkness," she said hastily. "It's a part of you just as much as the light is."

A dark smoke started to seep through the cracks of the door, dripping drops of blackness to the ground. My eyes went blurry and a wave of exhaustion swept over my mind. I collapsed into a strong pair of arms. My eyes were still fuzzy, but I could see clusters of color. I saw a flash of blonde and then a flash of black as I felt Dierdra lean over me.

"Sam?"

I tried with all of my might to focus, but I was too tired.

"Sam...please...save him..."

Then I blacked out.

x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

My eyes snapped open frantically and a gasp was sucked into my lungs. I was back in the sitting room, lying on the couch with Roxas. The fire crackled in the mantel, the only sound in the quiet room. My head was pounding in pain. I groaned and covered my eyes with my hands. The light stung.

"Sam?"

My heart stopped for a second at the sound of the voice.

"Are you alright?"

I sat up slowly, removing myself from being next to Roxas. My brain felt like it was melted. Too much information. "Headache," I whimpered. "Big headache." My eyes really, really hurt. I bet that if I looked in that mirror again, I'd see gold instead of green. I kept my eyes covered and added my other hand to my forehead. I leaned heavily against the back of the couch, curled up in my own little world. Roxas sat next to me, worried.

That's when I remembered why my head hurt so much.

Namine was gone.

A invisible pain squeezed my heart. She was gone. Forever. Tears swelled beneath my hand and spilled down my cheeks. I couldn't stop them.

"Sam?" Roxas said, panicked.

"She's gone," I sobbed. "Namine. She's gone."

Immediately, gentle hands grasped my shoulders and pulled me into a warm embrace. I curled into Roxas and cried into his shirt, pulling my hands away from my head and eyes. I kept my burning eyes shut. He rested his chin next to my head in my hair. "I know," He whispered softly, "I felt it." He pulled back, to look at my face, but I pulled away. My eyes were still gold.

"No, Roxas," I cried, "I..."

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned, but I heard hurt in his voice. "It's okay, you know. You can trust me."

_I know that_, I thought miserably, _I just don't know how much you trust me_. I put my hands into my lap, keeping my eyes shut. Tears still streamed down my cheeks. I felt him wipe them away. I was afraid of his reaction, but he was already suspicious of something and I can't keep hiding this.

I opened my eyes and looked into his. Shock was the first emotion to cross his face, then confusion as he pulled away from me. "What..."

I choked back another sob. "My eyes change color when the darkness is close to my heart," I explained teary. "It means that Dierdra is borrowing some of my power to fight it."

"Dierdra?"

"She's my other in this universe," I explained in a whisper, "like Kaity and Kairi."

Roxas opened his mouth to say more, but a door opened behind me, interrupting him. I turned my head around to see Kaity walk out, fully dressed. "Good morning, you too," she smiled. We half-heartedly greeted her. Kaity stopped, noticing the awkward vibes coming from us. "Uh, did someone die or something? And why are your eyes gold, Sam?"

I told Kaity about my dream with Namine and the reason behind my eyes. Her cheery atmosphere vanished, replace by a cloud of anguish. She fell into one of the chairs, defeated.

"I knew something was up when I woke up this morning," she muttered. Her eyes looked over Roxas and I, "Not to change the subject or anything, but why are you both still in your sleep clothes? It's almost noon."

Noon? My cheeks warmed for the billionth time as the pain in my eyes and head subsided, but I hardly noticed. "Uh..." What was I supposed to say? She's going to tease me about this forever!

Seeing my panicked expression and red cheeks, Roxas laughed and stood. I glared at him. Why is he laughing? This isn't funny! He maneuvered to stand in front of me and crouched down to my level, looking into my eyes. "Your eyes are green again," he said before rising and gently kissing the top of my head. My blush spread down my neck.

Kaity stared at me, wide eyed as Roxas left to his own room. I buried my face in my hands, uselessly hiding from Kaity, who I felt suddenly sit next to me. Here it comes...

"What the hell did I miss?" She exclaimed. "What happened last night?" Her eyes flickered to Roxas' door and back, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Did you two do anything?"

"What?" I gasped, turning to her. "Oh my God! No!" I exclaimed, waving my hands frantically. "No! Nothing like that! I couldn't sleep last night, so I came out here to draw and he came out and we talked. He knew that if I tried to go back to sleep alone, that I wouldn't sleep, so we both went to sleep out here," I explained hastily.

"On the couch?" Kaity said hesitantly. "Together?"

"Uh..." She would never believe a denial. "Yeah," I admitted reluctantly.

Kaity squealed and tackled me, "Aw, that's so cute!" She pulled away and I coughed, trying to breathe again. "Details," she demanded. "What happened? What did you talk about? How did you feel? Was he-"

"Whoa! Slow down!" I laughed, covering her mouth with my hand. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my hand away. "We talked about our mutual feeling for one another. Nothing happened," I shrugged, "But... I think that was the first time in a while that I felt... I don't know, happy..." I said with a smile.

"Well," Kaity said hugging me. "I'm happy if you're happy." She pulled away and took another look at me, her nose scrunching up, "I'll be even happier once you change and shower."

I sighed and got up, gathering my sketchbook and pencils. I went to our room and threw my bag on my bed. As soon as I was alone though, my mind was whirring. Thinking about everything that had happened in my dreams last night. It seems like I'll be getting quite a bit of art done while we are here.

* * *

No, I didn't forget about this story. Life has just been really busy. I had a relative pass away last year and it took me sometime to get back into the mood to write. So here are three long chapters. Only four more to go! Whoo! Having a little bit of writers block on chapter25, but will get it done and up as soon as I can.

~ Dreamer


	26. Disappear, disappear

Chapter Twenty-Five: Disappear, disappear...

Throughout my childhood, no matter where I looked, I was always alone. I never really thought anything of it. I thought it was natural to spend hours upon hours alone with only your thoughts as company. I think it was during these moments that I tapped into my artistic instinct. To try and put some color into a very dull world. It wasn't until I lost the moments of peace that I realized that they are a necessary part of an artist's life. It has always been the fate of an artist to be alone. How else are they supposed to delve into their souls and channel their twisted emotions through their veins to create such heartbreaking masterpiece's?

In a daze, I picked a light gray pencil from the pile of color on the floor beside me. It has been two days since Riku and Sora went to sleep. Glancing up from my work, I checked to be sure that they were still breathing. Yesterday, Riku had stopped breathing and it scared the hell out of us. Thank God my mom signed me up for those CPR classes last year.

No normal person slept this long without being in a coma. Yen Sid told us that they would awaken when they were ready, but when would that be?

Kaity, Roxas, and I have taken it upon ourselves to guard them. More and more heartless have been appearing in the tower and it would suck if one of them attacked Riku or Sora. At the moment, I was the one playing baby sitter.

I blew some hairs out of my face and continued my picture. At the moment, it was a line art of the boy that helped me in Castle Oblivion. I recognized him from somewhere, but I just couldn't place him. Already today, I'd drawn mine and Kaity's necklace's, my new one, Dierdra and the boy from the train, among many other things. Including the brief visions I received from Namine.

"Hey, am I interrupting?"

I looked up and saw Kaity sliding into the room. "Not at all." I said, returning to my drawing.

She shut the door and checked on the guys. "You know, if I didn't know that they were under some sleep spell/test thing, I'd say that they were in a coma."

One side of my mouth quirked up. It was scary how alike we thought. "Comatose people don't talk in their sleep." I muttered as I shaded the boys clothes.

"They spoke?" She said taken aback.

"Riku did, and it was actually more like a mutter." I said, looking up at her. "Couldn't hear anything that made sense."

She gave the guys one more look over before turning around and skipping to sit next to me. "So what are you drawing?" She asked childishly as she stuck her nose into my sketchbook. I swear, she's just like my younger sister. "Is that the kid from Castle Oblivion?"

"Yup," I sighed, pushing her head out of the way. I switched my gray pencil for a beige one. "I recognize him from somewhere... I just can't remember where."

She hummed and I saw her eyes drift to my new half-heart charm necklace. "You weren't in your bed when I woke up this morning," she stated slyly.

Of course she would only assume the worst of me. "I had another nightmare. Woke me up." I mumbled, picking up a black pencil. "I couldn't go back to sleep, so I went to keep Roxas company in here and start my shift early."

"Uh huh, sure," she said skeptical. "Well, I'm not starting my shift early." Of course not.

This whole time - and for the last few hours - a swirl of emotions had been building in me. I tried to act casual and keep drawing, but I had to tell her. "Kaity..." I said, letting my hand stop. I stared at my drawing, afraid to look at anything else. "I think I like him." I said softly. "I mean, like-like him."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." She scoffed sarcastically.

I put my pencil back into the pile next to me. "I'm serious Kai, this is not a good thing. We shouldn't start things like this. It's not our universe!" My fingers crept up to my necklace, like they always do when I'm thinking or really nervous. "How could I have let myself do this?"

"Sam...," Kaity said hesitant. She laid a hand on my shoulder, "It just happens sometimes."

"But I could have stopped it!" I seethed, tossing aside my sketchbook and getting to my feet. "I was fighting it from the very beginning, but then I couldn't anymore... I..." I took a frustrated breath, pacing to the window. "We're leaving we'll never see them again," I stated quietly. "It's like I'm just setting myself up for a heartbreak." Sometimes, I'm just completely foolish.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Kaity rise and move to the side of Sora's bed. I watched as she hesitantly brushed aside a few strands that had fallen into his eyes. "You're not the only one doomed to heartbreak." She sighed after a moment.

I turned around, my anger softening. '_A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees,'_ I thought. And we have both missed this particular tree. "The cruise ship is going to run out of chocolate, isn't it?" I smiled sadly.

"You bet it is," She sighed. Shaking away whatever she was feeling, she wiped her eyes and went back to where she was sitting and grabbed a book that was lying on the floor. "I came to see you for a reason. Here," she held out the book to me. "I was looking through the library and found this."

"What is it?" I asked, taking the leather bound book. The animal hide felt worn and weathered beneath my fingers. There was no title anywhere on the cover. Strange.

"It's a hand written journal describing the rise and fall of a nameless world," She explained. "I say nameless because it looks like someone had gone through and erased the name from the text. Other than that, it talks about the heart of all worlds and about a hidden light that's supposed to be brighter than the sun. Its written in old English. Lots of metaphors and stuff. Very cryptic."

"Which is why you brought it to me," I stated, flipping open the cover.

"Who better to figure out what it says than the queen of ancient literature herself?" She joked.

I hummed and flipped through the pages, scanning them.

From what I was reading I knew that the author was a scribe for the royal court. He described the kingdom that he lived in as bright, colorful, and the heart of all hearts that served as the light of any and all lights that shone in the darkest of nights. The scribe talked about the duty of the court and the royal family. Their responsibility to protect all other worlds.

The writing began to get really jumbled and cryptic when I flipped deeper into the book. Something was happening and darkness had begun to spread to the hearts of the Guardians and to the other worlds. He writes about the horror of the darkness taking the kingdom and about his escape with the only member of the royal family left, a young princess.

"_...and her heart will be the last remaining light of the kingdom. The amulet upon her breast will be her protector, shielding the bright morning sun beneath an eclipsing moon. The kingdom is vanquished, forever lost within the starless night of the darkness."_

The entry ended there, I flipped to the next page, but it was blank. When I reached the final few pages of the book, I found an entry. The last one. The writing was written as if the author were in a hurry or excited. I scanned the page and saw a word I wasn't prepared to see.

_...Earth..._

I went back to the beginning of the entry, but I never got a chance to read it. Yelping in surprise, I dropped the book as flame engulfed it and burned my fingers. Kaity backed up and tripped into the wall. I backed away, watching the book burn. "What the-"

My sentence ended in a cry as a sharp pain shot threw my head. My hands pressed against my temples. A malicious chuckle echoed in my ears as the pain began to subside. Gritting my teeth, I lowered my hands and stomped out the flames.

I'm going to murder him! Every time I almost discover something useful, he goes and destroys it!

"Divan!" I screamed at the air above me. "You dirty, rotten little-AH!" I yelled in frustration. No words could give justice to the rage that churned inside me toward that rat. Angry tears stung my eyes. I was going to have a tantrum.

"That was Divan?" Kaity blanched. "How in the hell did he do that? He's not even here!"

Furious, I kicked the ashes and sent them spiraling through the air. I swear, when I see him again, I'm going to kill him. Or just beat the crap out of him because I don't think that I could kill him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Roxas asked, startled. "I could hear you shouting downstairs."

I turned to tell Roxas what had just happened, but I couldn't get the words out. My eyes widened and my anger turned to a cold fear. A few feet away, Kaity gasped in horror. "Roxas?!" She shouted. "You're fading!"

"What?" He questioned, confused. In that same second, his body went rigid and his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Roxas!" I gasped as he fell like a stone. I ran forward to catch him, but he dissolved into vapor before he hit the stone floor.

"Where did he go..." I breathed, shocked. I whipped my head around to Kaity and shouted at her. "Where did he go?!"

However, Kaity wasn't looking at me. Her eyes were focused on something else, hands over her mouth. Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I snapped my body to standing pin straight on my feet. I followed her eyes to Sora's bed.

Upon the bed was a fading form. Sora's fading form. "W-what-" I stuttered.

A sudden wave of darkness slammed against my heart, making me stumble back. I clutched my chest, the breath completely knocked out of me. I watched the darkness surround Sora's comatose body. Then, in a flash of darkness, Sora was gone as well.

"No!" Kaity screamed, running to the bed. She slammed her open hands on the covers, pausing for a moment before dashing out of the room, shouting. "Yen Sid! _Yen Sid!_"

A cold silence settled in the room. Unsure of what to do, my legs gave out and I collapsed to knees. My breath came in shallow and sharp. What just happened? What. The. Hell. Just. Happened. One minute ago, Sora and Roxas were both here. Right here. Where did they go? Who took them?!

A loud gasp and sudden movement to my left made me scream in surprise. I stared in disbelief at the second bed. "Riku..." I whispered, on the brink of tears as my eyes met his open ones. "You're awake..." I jumped to my feet and went to the door. "Riku's awake!" I shouted before turning back to the silver haired boy.

The newly awakened Riku was already on his feet. I rushed over to him. "Riku, what happened?"

"What happened here?" He asked. "Where's Sora?"

"I-I don't know," I stammered, trembling. "He was here and then he was gone. Roxas disappeared too. Something must have happened during the test."

"They took him." He growled, turning toward the door. "Damn it!" He cursed, exiting the room.

"Who are 'They'?" I shouted after him. Groaning in frustration, I snatched my bow from the ground and followed him out. In a storm, Riku crossed the second room to the stairs and took them two at a time all the way down with me right on his heels. We burst into Yen Sid's study, starling both Kaity and Yen Sid.

"Riku! You're awake!" Kaity exclaimed, surprised.

Riku ignored her and went straight up to Yen Sid. "Master Yen Sid, I know what has happened to Sora and Roxas." He declared. "The last world I was in was The World That Never Was. I saw Sora, trapped in some sort of floating sphere in that world. They're holding him there. They want him for something, I don't know what."

The old Master closed his eyes. "I feared that something like this might happen." He admitted. "It is Master Xehanort. He has taken Sora for whatever plan he has been putting in to motion." Opening his eyes, he laid them firmly upon Riku. "You must go. Stop Xehanort. For I fear that if you do not, we might see our final days."

Without hesitation, Riku nodded and bowed out of respect. In the same motion, he turned for the door.

Things were happening way too fast. What's going on? Where are we going? "What are we doing?" I asked, catching up with Riku.

"Rescuing our friends," he stated through gritted teeth, "and bagging us some heartless.

A new fire flooded my veins as Kaity and I followed him out. A fire that filled my eyes with a bright gold.

* * *

I'm Back!  
Quick update. Its a bit rushed, might go in and edit it again before posting the next chapter. Will update again this upcoming week!  
Due to the New KH game, I had to fit my story with it. Some parts wont be exactly as it happened in the game, but some parts will be. Especially the ending.  
Review please! Love to hear thoughts! ~Dreamer


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